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Brown Joins Push to Strip Terrorists of Citizenship

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has signed on to Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (ID-Conn.) proposal to strip Americans of their citizenship and the rights that go along with it if they associate with foreign terrorists or terrorist groups and are captured outside the U.S.

Lieberman and Brown are scheduled to unveil the legislation Thursday during a noontime news conference on Capitol Hill. The Senators are set to be joined by Pennsylvania Reps. Jason Altmire (D) and Charlie Dent (R), who are co-sponsoring the legislation in the House.

The proposal, known as the Terrorist Expatriation Act, would build on a World War II era law that enables the government to strip the citizenship of any American fighting for an organized military of an enemy of the U.S.

“I’ve always felt we should treat people who are trying to kill us — especially in these instances, the Christmas bomber in particular, as enemy combatants. They should be interrogated pursuant to our applicable laws and find out what’s next and what they’ve done, what they’re going to do,” Brown said Wednesday during an interview to discuss his views on the Obama administration’s national security policies. “And then, once we’ve run the information, then they can determine whether they want to go with the civilian side or the military side.”

Lieberman’s legislation comes on the heels of Saturday’s failed terrorist attack on Times Square in New York. But it would not have affected the suspect in that case, as he is an American citizen who was apprehended in the U.S.

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