Van Nuys Vandalism: Charter Calls for Terrorism Label

Last month’s vandalism of Spectrum fiber-optic lines — which temporarily knocked out internet service for more than 50,000 customers in Los Angeles and Ventura counties — should be labeled “domestic terrorism,” the company said Tuesday.

The June 15 incident in Van Nuys caused widespread disruption. Some Spectrum customers went without internet service for up to 30 hours as crews worked to repair the firm’s communications network.

Thirteen Spectrum cables, containing 2,600 individual fibers, were sliced, cutting off internet and phone service to key facilities, including a U.S. military base, 911 and other emergency dispatch centers, fire and police departments and healthcare facilities, according to Spectrum’s parent company, Charter Communications.

The company initially speculated that would-be copper thieves were responsible for the damage. Copper is a valuable metal sought by thieves for its resale value.

Charter previously attributed the incident to culprits who apparently climbed trees in the early-morning hours to gain access to Spectrum’s overhead fiber lines strung between poles. The Spectrum lines did not contain copper, but the vandals continued to cut the cables in multiple spots, raising questions about their motives and the possibility of sabotage.

The Van Nuys incident highlighted the vulnerability of the communications networks.

“The rise in deliberate attacks on critical communications infrastructure poses a significant threat to national security,” Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee said Tuesday in a statement distributed by Charter. “These disruptions divert crucial resources and have far-reaching consequences.”

Typically, the FBI or other law enforcement agencies determine whether an incident rises to the level of domestic terrorism. Companies do not have the authority to make such unilateral declarations.

The FBI and Los Angeles Police Department did not have an immediate comment Tuesday.

Such incidents have been on the rise in recent years.

Last year, the telecommunications industry grappled with nearly 6,000 intentional incidents that caused damage to communications infrastructure, according to a coalition of lobbying groups for broadband and phone companies. Service to more than 1.5 million customers was disrupted, and the companies spent millions of dollars to repair their lines.

In its statement, Charter said it wants governments to take such acts of theft and vandalism more seriously. More than two dozen state legislatures have passed bills in recent years making such crimes a felony.

The Van Nuys incident should be considered “an act of domestic terrorism based on the nature of the fiber cuts, extent of damage and make-up of impacted customers,” Charter said.

“These criminal attacks on our country’s vital communications networks are intentional and cause outages that put lives at risk,” Charter Chief Executive Chris Winfrey said. “Such life-threatening events should be declared acts of domestic terrorism and prosecuted accordingly.”

Spectrum already had offered a $25,000 reward for information related to the Van Nuys lines that leads to an arrest.