The Islamic State’s Acolytes and the Challenges They Pose to U.S. Law Enforcement. Jerome P. Bjelopera, Specialist in Organized Crime and Terrorism. June 13, 2016.

“Analysis of publicly available information on homegrown violent jihadist activity in the United States since September 11, 2001, suggests that the Islamic State (IS) and its acolytes may pose broad challenges to domestic law enforcement and homeland security efforts. Homegrown IS- inspired plots can be broken into three rough categories based on the goals of the individuals involved. The first two focus on foreign fighters, the last on people willing to do harm in the United States:

• The Departed—Americans, often described as foreign fighters, who plan to leave or have left the United States to fight for the Islamic State.
• The Returned—American foreign fighters who trained with or fought in the ranks of the Islamic State and come back to the United States, where they can potentially plan and execute attacks at home.
• The Inspired—Americans lured—in part—by IS propaganda to participate in terrorist plots within the United States…”