All too often, certain terrorist activities are shrugged off as “lone wolf” incidents — those carried out by someone who acts alone, without the help or encouragement of a government or a terrorist organization — if there is minimal awareness about the context behind the crime.

This is precisely the scenario that the U.S. must avoid when it comes to the new federal charges against Aram Brunson. On August 29, the Massachusetts native of Armenian descent was charged with engaging in a scheme to cover up efforts to develop bomb-making skills, and with making false statements to federal officials.

The case stems from an explosion in his dormitory room at the University of Chicago last year, as well as his alleged false statements to officials at Boston’s Logan International Airport after his bags set off alarms for explosives.

According to the charges brought against Brunson by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division, he engaged “in a calculated scheme to conceal his efforts to develop bomb making skills and construct an explosive device in support of his violent extremist activity.”

The former student sought to “engage in what he described as revolutionary direct action and terrorism in support of Armenian causes.”

Federal prosecutors also said that he recorded videos in which we discussed “how to form, fund, and arm a revolutionary group.” In these videos, he emphasized that the Armenian language should be used by aspiring terrorists and revolutionaries, as “the language of terrorism is Armenian, not English.”

The affidavit also states that Brunson acted in collaboration with two other individuals as a “cell” in their terrorist planning, while officials found a detailed formula to create a chemical explosive in his home in the Boston-area suburb of Newton.

The average observer who is not well-versed in Eurasian affairs may be inclined to ignore this story. Yet a closer examination reveals that Brunson’s activity is deeply rooted in radical ideology as well as in his political affiliation and terrorist ties.

He is far from a “lone wolf.” Brunson was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). As a sign of glorifying violence, Brunson was inducted into ARF with a ceremony over a firearm, and he had been given a bullet with the symbolic date on it.

As a member of ARF, Brunson was also active in the Greater Boston “Nzhdeh” Chapter of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), named after Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh, who is glorified in Armenia through a monument in the capital of Yerevan, a statue in Gyumri, and streets in nearly 20 municipalities.

Brunson is also a past honoree of the Armenian lobby on Capitol Hill, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), and has visited Congress for pro-Armenian lobbying activity.

Brunson’s grander plan is revealed in an affidavit that FBI Special Agent Thomas M. Dalton submitted in support of the criminal complaint against him. According to the complaint, Brunson conducted searches for the locations of Turkish and Azerbaijani diplomatic facilities both within the U.S. and abroad, and ambassadors from both of those countries were his targets for assassination.

Will Brunson face justice? Herein lies the problem: He fled the U.S. for Armenia following the explosion at his University of Chicago dorm room last year, and he currently remains in Armenia.

Federal authorities have attempted to contact Brunson to persuade him to come back to the U.S. and speak with law enforcement officials, but thus far he has declined to return.

Regardless of Brunson’s fate, this is not an isolated case, and authorities should treat it in a manner befitting of its broader implications for curbing foreign-inspired domestic terrorism.

Members of Congress regularly meet with the radical groups tied to Brunson, including ANCA and ARF. Mourad Topalian, ANCA’s past chairman, was charged in 1999 with conspiracy, weapons and explosives charges, including in connection with a bombing that injured three people in 1980. Further, AYF’s social media accounts frequently share posts glorifying terrorism.

American elected officials should exercise caution regarding ANCA, ARF, and AYF, and decline to meet with their representatives unless they renounce terrorism.

On the matter of Brunson, it is essential to extradite him to the U.S., and to add terrorism charges to his current falsification and cover-up charges. It is also incumbent upon the FBI to bring terrorism charges against the groups that fostered Brunson’s radicalization and provided a fertile ground for his terrorist activity.

These actions would send a strong message that the U.S. refuses to provide a safe haven for terrorism. Any other treatment of this case, however, signals that America shrugs off foreign-inspired domestic terrorism as nothing more than “lone wolf” activity.

Paul Miller is a Newsmax columnist.

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