The Austin bombings were acts of domestic terrorism, the city’s police chief said after having avoided using the term despite fears the attacks were possible hate crimes, CNN reported.
The wave of deadly bombings that shook the Texas capital earlier this month resulted in the death of two African-Americans and caused injury to several others, including a Latina.
Interim Police Chief Brian Manley drew widespread criticism following the self-inflicted death of bombing suspect Mark Anthony Conditt, who he referred to as a “challenged young man.”
At a panel discussion hosted Thursday, Manley backtracked on his previous statement.
"I actually agree now that he was a domestic terrorist for what he did to us,” he said, NPR reported.
Manley reasoned that he was being specific about the legal definitions under federal law because he knew the case would end up in a legal system.
“I've had an opportunity to sit back and reflect on the impact that it had on our community, and not be centered and focused on the investigation and trying to put a stop to it,” he said.
“And when I look at what he did to our community, and as your police chief, I actually agree now that he was a domestic terrorist for what he did to us.”
Manley’s initial characterization of Conditt as a challenged individual angered many who felt that violent acts committed by people of color were readily classified as acts of terrorism while white suspects responsible for similar incidents were easily dismissed as being troubled.
Backing this argument is Chas Moore, leader of the Austin Justice Coalition.
In a statement, he said that Manley was reluctant to dub Conditt a terrorist because of his color.
“Because he was white, we gave him the benefit of being a human first,” Moore said, according to the Huffington Post.
Members of Congress have also spoken out about the classification of the bombings.
“For too long we have focused only on certain sources of terrorism and violence while ignoring others,” said Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson, Cedric Richmond and Sheila Jackson Lee in a joint statement, per The Huffington Post.
“To be clear, these bombings must be classified as ongoing terrorist attacks and should be investigated as such.”
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.