Enemy of the state

This article is about the political and criminal term. For other uses, see Enemy of the state (disambiguation).

An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state, such as treason. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, an authoritarian regime may purport to maintain national security by describing social or political dissidents as "enemies of the state". In other cases, the individual in question may have legitimately endangered the country and/or its population. For example, a double agent selling military or intelligence secrets could undermine a nation's security, and could therefore be considered an enemy not of just a person or entity within a state, but the state itself and all entities therein.

Examples

Political

• In Ancient Rome some parties could be named an enemy of the state through specific public actions resulting in a formally recognized state of war. The Latin term Proscription (Latin: proscriptio) is a term for official condemnation of enemies of the state.
• The term "enemy of the people" in the Soviet Union during the period of Stalinism and in Russia during war in Donbass
• Jews in Nazi Germany, introduced by Adolf Hitler
• Carlos Lamarca, a Brazilian Army Captain who deserted to become the leader of a left-wing guerrilla against the military dictatorship; Lamarca was the only man in the History of Brazil to receive the status of traitor, being considered an "enemy of the state".
• Leaker of U.S. diplomatic cables Chelsea Manning was charged with (but ultimately acquitted of) "communicating with the enemy," implying that U.S. military prosecutors considered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, to whom Manning leaked the documents, an enemy of the US government.
• Edward Snowden, the American computer specialist who leaked details of top-secret United States and British government mass surveillance programs to the press, has been discussed by opinion writers as being persecuted as an enemy of the state.
• Human rights defenders working on behalf of communities affected by large-scale development projects are increasingly branded as enemies of the state.

Biography

• Justin Raimondo's biography of Murray Rothbard An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard.
• Bill Lueders's biography of Erwin Knoll, An Enemy of the State: The Life of Erwin Knoll.

Fictional

• The fictional character Peter LaNague in the novel An Enemy of the State (The LaNague Federation, Book 1) by F. Paul Wilson.
• The fictional character Emmanuel Goldstein in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.
• In Resident Evil 6, Leon Kennedy is accused of being an enemy of the state by Svetlana Belikova, President of the Eastern Slav Republic, and orders her guards to attack him right after she briefly spars in one on one combat with the American.
• The six main characters in Final Fantasy XIII are branded enemies of the state and the events of the game revolve around them trying to survive.
• Tali'Zorah is accused of treason during her personal quest in Mass Effect 2.
• In the TV series NCIS: New Orleans, the team hunt down a suspect known as "Matt S. O'Feeney", which was an anagram for enemy of the state. The suspect was a dangerous man wanted by NCIS and Interpol for illegal arms dealing and other criminal activities.

See also

• Enemy of the people
• Public enemy