"Paper terrorism" is a neologism referring to the use of false liens, frivolous lawsuits, bogus letters of credit, and other legal or pseudolegal documents lacking sound factual basis as a method of harassment against an opponent on a scale described as evocative of conventional armed terrorism.¹ These methods are popular among some American anti-government groups² and those associated with the redemption movement.³

Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League states that these methods were pioneered in the late 1970s by the Posse Comitatus, an American far-right social movement.⁴ Some victims of paper terrorism have been forced to declare bankruptcy.⁵ An article by the Southern Poverty Law Center states that another tactic is filing reports with the falsely accusing their political enemies of having unreported income.