The case of Heather Coffman, a Virginia resident who pleaded guilty to making a false statement involving international terrorism, demonstrate trends regarding the strategic use of gendered framing in terrorism cases.
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(page 3): “Aside from splashing pro-ISIS propaganda around her social media outlets, the defendant affirmatively crossed over the line from merely expressing her personal beliefs into actual criminal conduct designed to support the ISIS violent agenda. Her efforts included establishing ties with actual ISIS facilitators and connecting others with those contacts to facilitate their travel to the Middle East to join ISIS.”
(page 4): “From the summer up through September 2014, the couple had extensive on-line conversations, many of which centered on their affinity for ISIS and jihadist causes. That path is what ultimately led to the couple’s plan for N.A. to join ISIS and die a martyr. By dying as a martyr, both the defendant and N.A. believed that he would secure their place together in the highest level of heaven, Jannah. Coffman actively encouraged N.A.’s martyrdom plan, helped him work out the logistics and put him in contact with actual ISIS facilitators that she believed to be operating in Syria.”
(pages 9-10): “In a similar vein, a strong message of deterrence needs to be sent to anyone planning on engaging in conduct geared towards supporting the ISIS agenda and thwarting law enforcement efforts to investigate and address the criminal conduct. COFFMAN exemplifies the frontlines of the current United States counterterrorism efforts. ISIS and other terrorist groups “are strategic about using women.”
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