Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Manhattan Institute Legal Policy Fellow Tal Fortgang and Rafael Mangual explore the differences between civil terrorism and civil disobedience. Fortgang explains how some organizations exploit legal loopholes to avoid accountability for lawless behavior, and why current laws often fail to address coordinated disruption and destruction.
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Follow City Journal on X: https://x.com/CityJournal
Tal Fortgang: https://x.com/tal_fortgang
Rafael Mangual: https://x.com/Rafa_Mangual
Chapters
0:00 Journey to the Manhattan Institute
07:04 Understanding Civil Terrorism
15:10 Civil Disobedience vs. Civil Terrorism
26:02 The Complexity of Cultural Debate
27:01 Civil Terrorism and Political Activism
28:04 Opposition to Israel and Its Implications
30:30 The Ideological Landscape of Civil Terrorism
33:21 Organized Movements and Their Structures
36:06 Identifying Civil Terrorist Organizations
41:08 Legal Loopholes and Accountability
45:21 Challenges in Prosecuting Civil Terrorism
48:16 RICO and Its Applicability
53:28 Historical Context of Civil Terrorism
56:23 Hope for Legislative Action
Manhattan Institute Legal Policy Fellow Tal Fortgang and Rafael Mangual explore the differences between civil terrorism and civil disobedience. Fortgang explains how some organizations exploit legal loopholes to avoid accountability for lawless behavior, and why current laws often fail to address coordinated disruption and destruction.
Get the best of City Journal, delivered weekly:
city-journal.org/email-alerts
Follow City Journal on X: https://x.com/CityJournal
Tal Fortgang: https://x.com/tal_fortgang
Rafael Mangual: https://x.com/Rafa_Mangual
Chapters
0:00 Journey to the Manhattan Institute
07:04 Understanding Civil Terrorism
15:10 Civil Disobedience vs. Civil Terrorism
26:02 The Complexity of Cultural Debate
27:01 Civil Terrorism and Political Activism
28:04 Opposition to Israel and Its Implications
30:30 The Ideological Landscape of Civil Terrorism
33:21 Organized Movements and Their Structures
36:06 Identifying Civil Terrorist Organizations
41:08 Legal Loopholes and Accountability
45:21 Challenges in Prosecuting Civil Terrorism
48:16 RICO and Its Applicability
53:28 Historical Context of Civil Terrorism
56:23 Hope for Legislative Action










