# A hypothetical ISIS public execution on US soil. What would be the aftermath? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844 "2014-09-18T17:06:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/1 "2014-09-18T17:06:19Z")
In light of the recent news about this exact scenario being thwarted in Australia it got me wondering what the aftermath would be like if it happened on US soil. I’m picturing something like this: Couple ISIS members enter the country or are already here. They go to Wal Mart and grab a random citizen, drag him or her to the middle of the store and be head them with a steak knife or something. What would the fall out be? How would the U.S. respond? How would local communities respond? Would every non-Hispanic with brown skin (excluding black folks obviously) suddenly become suspected sleeper cell agents for ISIS? I have to imagine life would get hard for them. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/2 "2014-09-18T17:12:26Z")
Uhhh…what? Terrorists aren’t smart enough to figure out crap like that. One guy with a ‘shoe bomb’ accidentally changed airline security forever. If a terrorist did suddenly figure out that minor acts are much more effective than waiting for a HR (9/11) that may never come…I’d think he would suicide bomb or take an uzi to a mall rather than an attack on one guy. Now if _my_ scenario happened, I’d say that a kajillion dollars in security would be spent at malls. A new agency would be formed, and random strip searches at mall entrances would be just a couple of ‘BOOMS’ away. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/3 "2014-09-18T17:16:16Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Terrorists aren’t smart enough to figure out crap like that. Tell that to [Lee Rigby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Lee_Rigby). ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/4 "2014-09-18T17:31:58Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Tell that to [Lee Rigby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Lee_Rigby). Hell, with the relaxed immigration of late, how can there NOT be terrorist cells in the country? My dumbass theories are: 1. They lack fundings. 2. They are here but are waiting to try and organize something huge rather than just…okay, I can’t post what I was going to. It’s too easy and too effective. It wouldn’t kill anyone but it sure would cost the gov a lot of money. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/5 "2014-09-18T17:34:08Z")
A knife? It would die away in a few weeks. But we didn’t invade Yemen after the first Fort Hood shootings. I doubt we would do anything against ISIS that we aren’t already doing. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/6 "2014-09-18T17:36:48Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Hell, with the relaxed immigration of late, how can there NOT be terrorist cells in the country? My dumbass theories are: > > 1. They lack fundings. > > 2. They are here but are waiting to try and organize something huge rather than just…okay, I can’t post what I was going to. It’s too easy and too effective. It wouldn’t kill anyone but it sure would cost the gov a lot of money. 1. They spend a few months here and realize how terrible their life was in Bumfuckistan. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/7 "2014-09-18T17:38:18Z")
The police would be called. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/8 "2014-09-18T17:43:24Z")
I hate to say it because the United States is my country, but I think life would get a lot harder for anyone of Middle Eastern descent (or even just dark skin and hair) regardless of their religion, citizen ship, or national origin. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/9 "2014-09-18T17:45:56Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > 1. They spend a few months here and realize how terrible their life was in Bumfuckistan. The 9/11 hijackers spent months here attending flying school. Some of them were here for more than a year and a half. They carried out their mission. Apparently in their time here they developed no fondness for the US. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/10 "2014-09-18T17:52:53Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The 9/11 hijackers spent months here attending flying school. Some of them were here for more than a year and a half. They carried out their mission. Apparently in their time here they developed no fondness for the US. Yeah, but they also had funding, a complex, detailed plan, and, I’m assuming, other support from back home, including lots of pushing and “encouragement.” I have to imagine (or hope, at least) that without constant reinforcement of their terroristic convictions from their superiors, at least _some_ of them may have succumbed to the temptation of a long, comfortable life in America. But you are right, I suppose once you’ve already gone so far, it’s difficult if not impossible to just walk away. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/11 "2014-09-18T17:58:44Z")
A Chinese guy beheaded a Canadian passenger on a Greyhound bus on the Trans Canada Highway in Manitoba 6 years ago, and proudly displayed the head to other passengers. He was found not guilty of a crime, and remanded to a high security mental facility. It would be pretty hard to get a conviction of any ISIS operative in the USA, because the jury pool already considers them to be insane, and unable to distinguish right from wrong. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/12 "2014-09-18T18:09:47Z")
Further to the above (at 5+ minutes), the police could not legally shoot the ISIS operatives after they had executed the victim, unless they were A) likely to commit an impending additional crime, or B) attempting to escape and become dangerous fugitives. Just as intended presidential assassins were not shot and killed by security under circumstances in which they could be neutralized and apprehended without the use of lethal force. So, all that could be done is for the police to arrest them and read them their rights and arraign them in court and prosecute them for homicide, with no assurance of a guilty verdict. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/13 "2014-09-18T18:10:48Z")
Drone strikes against Walmarts across the country? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/14 "2014-09-18T18:12:54Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It would be pretty hard to get a conviction of any ISIS operative in the USA, because the jury pool already considers them to be insane, and unable to distinguish right from wrong. Very much the contrary. If any sort of ISIS affiliation could be demontrated, their conviction would be a foregone conclusion. The only real question would be if there’s any chance at all they might get off with life in prison instead of the death penalty. Terrorism is a federal crime, so it doesn’t matter if the state in question has the death penalty or not. As to the practical effects, gun sales would soar thru the roof, Middle-Easterners would be in some pretty bad discrimination, and Chaldeans and other non-Muslim Middle-Easterners would be well advised to go to extreme lengths to make their religous affiliations obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/15 "2014-09-18T18:19:28Z")
There have already been attacks where a random terrorist guy shoots up a bunch of people, or sets off a bomb. And then regular old police capture them, or mop up the blood if the perp died in the attack), and then they have a trial, and then they go to prison. The United States is not crawling with Islamic terrorist sleeper cells. How do I know this? I know this because–what are they waiting for? Yes, there are murderous disaffected losers wandering around the US. The FBI arrests such people from time to time. The level of danger they pose is equivalent to the Columbine killers, or all the other spree killers we’ve had over the decades. That their shooting spree would, among other motives, include an islamic terrorist motive, is irrelevant. These guys are invariably not terrorist sleeper cell agents who sneaked into the United States are and just biding their time until they unleash the perfect terror attack. Rather they are losers and fuckheads who are here in America legally, usually because they were born here or grew up here. And then they decided they were killers and wanted to do something violent, for the same sorts of reasons that other spree killers go on rampages. We have a mass murder every few months here in America, and while people freak out for a few days afterwards, nothing ever changes. Until the next mass murder, when people freak out again for a few days, and then forget about it. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/16 "2014-09-18T19:08:20Z")
I’d say the difference in this case is ISISDUDE kills the individual in a violent manner for effect on US soil BECAUSE the person is American. What you describe is not the same. Random mass murders, shooting up schools, shooting up company headquarters etc… Joe Citizen doesn’t really identify with those horros because “he aint one of them”. Since most of the people here are American I think it’s likely that everyone will feel targeted. I think you sleep on the likelihood of something like this happening. All it takes is one guy to break into someones house out in the country, do the deed, film it and walk away. That’s alot easier than kidnapping Westerners in the ME and hiding them. Frankly I’m a bit surprised that this hasn’t already happened, although it did to a degree with Hassan in Ft. Hood. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/17 "2014-09-18T20:17:33Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Yeah, but they also had funding, a complex, detailed plan, and, I’m assuming, other support from back home, including lots of pushing and “encouragement.” > > I have to imagine (or hope, at least) that without constant reinforcement of their terroristic convictions from their superiors, at least _some_ of them may have succumbed to the temptation of a long, comfortable life in America. But you are right, I suppose once you’ve already gone so far, it’s difficult if not impossible to just walk away. I must admit, I have thought this myself – someone comes over here to do mischief, but then gets distracted and complacent, enjoying their existence in the USA. Of course, I could be wrong… it has happened before! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/18 "2014-09-18T20:26:27Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Frankly I’m a bit surprised that this hasn’t already happened, although it did to a degree with Hassan in Ft. Hood. Dude, it has happened. What do you think Ft Hood was? What do you think the Boston Marathon bombing was? What do you think the Beltway Sniper was? The Glasgow Airport attack? The Woolwich attack? Or all these: [List of unsuccessful terrorist plots in the United States post-9/11 - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsuccessful_terrorist_plots_in_the_United_States_post-9/11) ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/19 "2014-09-18T20:34:44Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Dude, it has happened. What do you think Ft Hood was? What do you think the Boston Marathon bombing was? What do you think the Beltway Sniper was? The Glasgow Airport attack? The Woolwich attack? > > Or all these: [List of unsuccessful terrorist plots in the United States post-9/11 - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsuccessful_terrorist_plots_in_the_United_States_post-9/11) Sorry. I didn’t realize those were ISIS. I thought those were just rogue killers, not representatives of an organized terrorist group that has explicitly said it will kill Americans on American soil. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844/20 "2014-09-18T21:23:12Z")
Since in the 20th century Public Executions in America — both legal and by direct democracy — were attended by crowds of thousands ( 20,000 in the last one, that of Rainey Bethea ) who came from near and far [\* ‘What’cha want to do today ? Go for a drive, ? Shopping ? Take in a little execution ?’\*] and weren’t that morally superior to ISIS, I doubt that PUBLIC in this case adds much to the horror. Apparently one of the main reasons for stopping public executions was to cut down on pickpockets. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hypothetical-isis-public-execution-on-us-soil-what-would-be-the-aftermath/698844.md?page=2)