Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T15:41:25.459Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Decoding Terrorism

An Interdisciplinary Approach to a Lone-Actor Case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2024

Julia Kupper
Affiliation:
Independent Researcher
Marie Bojsen-Møller
Affiliation:
University of Copenhagen
Tanya Karoli Christensen
Affiliation:
University of Copenhagen
Dakota Wing
Affiliation:
York University

Summary

This Element is an interdisciplinary analysis of the language evidence produced before, during and following a lone-actor terrorism attack in Halle, Germany, on October 9, 2019, resulting in two casualties. During his final preparations, the perpetrator, twenty-seven-year-old Stephan Balliet, announced his attack online and disseminated a targeted violence manifesto shortly before live-streaming his violent act. This post-hoc investigation introduces a multi-method approach that synchronizes well-established qualitative methodologies for forensic text analysis – genre, text linguistics, appraisal and uptake – to elucidate these data types. Furthermore, a retroactive threat assessment based on language data from the trial transcripts provides a holistic review of the assailant's background, red flags, triggering events and warning behaviors that could have signaled his movements along the pathway to violence. The results are considered in an organizational context to highlight current challenges faced by security agencies when mitigating the risk of lone-actors who radicalize in online environments.
Get access
Type
Element
Information
Online ISBN: 9781009495738
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 12 December 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Accelerationism Research Consortium. (2022). Intelligence Bulletin: White Terror. November 2022.Google Scholar
Allchorn, W., Dafnos, A. & Gentile, F. (2022). The role of violent conspiratorial narratives in violent and non-violent extreme right manifestos online. Global Network on Extremism & Technology, March 22. https://gnet-research.org/wp content/uploads/2022/03/GNET-Report-The-Role-of-Violent-Conspiratorial-Narratives.pdf.Google Scholar
Amman, M. & Meloy, J. R. (2021). Stochastic terrorism: A linguistic and psychological analysis. Perspectives on Terrorism, 15(5), 213, Issue Online: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27073433.Google Scholar
Auken, S. (2021). Genres inside genres. A short theory of embedded genre. Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie, 31, 163–78. https://doi.org/10.31468/dwr.883.Google Scholar
Austin, J. L. (1962). How To Do Things with Words. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Baele, S. J. (2019). Conspiratorial narratives in violent political actors’ language. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 38(5/6), 706–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X19868494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). The problem of speech genres. In Emerson, C. and Holquist, M., eds., McGee, V. W., trans., Speech Genres and Other Late Essays. Austin: University of Texas Press, pp. 60102.Google Scholar
Bartlett, J. & Miller, C. (2010). The Power of Unreason: Conspiracy Theories, Extremism and Counter-Terrorism. London: Demos.Google Scholar
Bauer, K., Grunwald, D. & Sicker, D. (2009). The challenges of stopping illegal peer-to-peer file sharing. NCTA Technical Papers. Washington, DC: NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.Google Scholar
Bauman, R. & Briggs, C. L. (1990). Poetics and performances as critical perspectives on language and social life. Annual review of Anthropology, 19(1), 5988. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.19.100190.000423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bedingfield, W. (2021). How the far right exploded on Steam and Discord. Wired, August 12. www.wired.com/story/far-right-took-over-steam-discord/.Google Scholar
Berger, J. M. (2018). Extremism. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergmann, E. (2018). Kinds of conspiracy theories. In Bergmann, E., ed., Conspiracy & Populism. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1945. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90359-0_2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S. & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar
Bjørgo, T. & Ravndal, J. A. (2019). Extreme-right violence and terrorism: Concepts, patterns, and responses. ICCT Policy Brief. Hague: The International Centre for Counterterrorism.Google Scholar
Bojsen-Møller, M. (2021). The Illicit Genre of Threatening Communications. A Combined Rhetorical Genre Studies and Forensic Linguistic Analysis of Danish Threatening Communications. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Copenhagen, Denmark]. https://static-curis.ku.dk/portal/files/308491099/Marie_Bojsen_M_ller_The_illicit_genre_of_threatening_communications.pdf.Google Scholar
Bojsen-Møller, M. (2022). Fit to provoke fear? Uptakes and textual travels of threatening communications in legal genres. International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, 29(1), 136. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsll.18869.Google Scholar
Bojsen-Møller, M. (2023). Joke or threat? Competing genre uptakes in a Danish court case. Language and Law / Linguagem E Direito, 10(1). Pre-print.Google Scholar
Bojsen-Møller, M., Auken, S., Devitt, A. J. & Christensen, T. K. (2020). Illicit genres: The case of threatening communications. Sakprosa, 12(1), 153. https://doi.org/10.5617/sakprosa.7416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Booth, A. (2023). Fractured in-group identity (re)negotiation in an online white nationalist forum. Applied Corpus Linguistics, 3(3), 18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acorp.2023.100062.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bracke, S. & Hernández Aguilar, L. M. (2023). The politics of replacement: From “race suicide” to the “great replacement.” In Bracke, S., Manuel, L. and Aguilar, H., eds., The Politics of Replacement: Demographic Fears, Conspiracy Theories, and Race Wars. London: Routledge, pp. 119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucholtz, M. & Hall, K. (2005). Language and identity. In Duranti, A., ed., A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology. Malden: Blackwell, pp. 369–94.Google Scholar
Bundeskriminalamt, . (2019). Beschuldigtenvernehmung [interrogation of accused].Google Scholar
Calhoun, F. S. & Weston, S. W. (2003). Contemporary Threat Management. San Diego: Specialized Training Services.Google Scholar
Calhoun, F. S. & Weston, S. W. (2021). Rethinking the path to intended violence. In Meloy, J. R. and Hoffman, J. H., eds., International Handbook of Threat Assessment, 2nd ed., New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 392406.Google Scholar
Calhoun, F. S. & Weston, S. W. (2023). Imagining the unimaginable to prepare for the unthinkable: Criteria for detecting, reporting, and acting to thwart intended violence. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 10(3), 188201. https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornell, D. G., Gregory, A. & Fan, X. (2011). Reductions in long-term suspensions following adoption of the Virginia student threat assessment guidelines. NASSP Bulletin, 95(3), 175–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636511415255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornell, D., Sheras, P., Gregory, A. & Fan, X. (2009). A retrospective study of school safety conditions in high schools using the Virginia threat assessment guidelines versus alternative approaches. School Psychology Quarterly, 24(2), 119–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016182.Google Scholar
Crawford, B. & Keen, F. (2020). The Hanau terrorist attack: How race hate and conspiracy theories are fueling global far-right violence. Combating Terrorism Center Sentinel, 13(3), 18. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/hanau-terrorist-attack-race-hate-conspiracy-theories-fueling-global-far-right-violence/.Google Scholar
De Beaugrande, R. A. & Dressler, W. U. (1981). Introduction to Text Linguistics. London: Longman.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dietz, P. E. (1986). Mass, serial, and sensational homicides. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 62, 477–91.Google ScholarPubMed
Dittrich, M., Rathje, J., Manemann, T. & Müller, F. (2022). Militant Accelerationism: Origins and Developments in Germany. Berlin: Center für Monitoring, Analyse und Strategie. https://cemas.io/en/publications/militantaccelerationism/CeMAS_Militant_Accelerationism_Origins_and_Developments_in_Germany.pdf.Google Scholar
ECRI: European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (2016). ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech. Strasbourg: The Council of Europe.Google Scholar
Ellis, C., Pantucci, R., van Zuijdewijn, J. et al. (2016). Lone-Actor Terrorism, Final Report: Countering Lone-Actor Terrorism Series. London: R.U. Studies. https://static.rusi.org/201604_clat_final_report.pdf.Google Scholar
Erlandsson, A. & Meloy, J. R. (2018). The Swedish school attack in Trollhättan. Journal of Forensic Science, 63(6), 1917–27. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29684937/.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Etaywe, A. (2022). Language as Evidence: A Discourse Semantic and Corpus Linguistic Approach to Examining Written Terrorist Threatening Communi cation. [Doctoral dissertation, University of New South Wales]. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/100727.Google Scholar
Etaywe, A. & Zappavigna, M. (2023). The role of social affiliation in incitement: A social semiotic approach to far-right terrorists’ incitement to violence. Language in Society, 126. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404523000404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commission, European, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Kaati, L., Cohen, K. & Pelzer, B. (2021). Heroes and Scapegoats: Right-Wing Extremism in Digital Environments. Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2838/6291.Google Scholar
Europol, . (2020). European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2020. Luxembourg: European Union. www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/european_union_terrorism_situation_and_trend_report_te-sat_2020_0.pdf.Google Scholar
Europol, . (2023). European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) 2023. Luxembourg: European Union. www.europol.europa.eu/cms/sites/default/files/documents/European%20Union%20Terrorism%20Situation%20and%20Trend%20report%202023.pdf.Google Scholar
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2015). Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing, and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks. U.S. Department of Justice. www.fbi.gov/file-repository/making-prevention-a-reality.pdf/view.Google Scholar
Fielitz, M. & Ahmed, R. (2021). It’s not funny anymore: Far-right extremists’ use of humour. Radicalisation Awareness Network. Luxembourg: European Union.Google Scholar
Finley, L. & Esposito, L. (2020): Antifa as Bogeyman. Factis Pax, 14(2), 105–19.Google Scholar
Fizek, S. & Dippel, A. (2020). Gamification of terror – Power games as liminal spaces. In Groen, M., Kiel, N. Tillmann, A. and Weßel, A., eds., Games and Ethics: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, pp. 7794. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28175-5c6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freadman, A. (2002). Uptake. In Coe, R., Lingard, L. and Teslenko, T., eds., The Rhetoric and Ideology of Genre: Strategies for Stability and Change. Cresskill: Hampton Press, pp. 3953.Google Scholar
Freadman, A. (2020). A tardy uptake. Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie, 30, 105–32. https://doi.org/10.31468/cjsdwr.781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuchs, C. & Middelhoff, P. (2020). Das Netzwerk der Neuen Rechten: Wer Sie Lenkt, Wer Sie Finanziert und Wie Sie die Gesellschaft Verändern. Reinbek: Rowohlt Polaris.Google Scholar
Gales, T. (2010). Ideologies of Violence: A Corpus and Discourse Analytic Approach to Stance in Threatening Communications. [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Davis]. https://www.proquest.com/openview/d5725144a44fc7641450382a5672b735/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750.Google Scholar
Gales, T. (2011). Identifying interpersonal stance in threatening discourse: An appraisal analysis. Discourse Studies, 13(1), 2746. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445610387735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gales, T. (2015) Threatening stances: A corpus analysis of realized vs. non- realized threats. Language and Law / Linguagem e Direito, 2(2), 125.Google Scholar
Gales, T. (2019). Threatening contexts: An examination of threatening language from linguistic, legal and law enforcement perspectives. In Evans, M., Jeffries, L. and O’Driscoll, J., eds., The Routledge Handbook of Language in Conflict. London: Routledge, pp. 472–92. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429058011-27.Google Scholar
Gales, T. (2021). “Prison has been a proper punishment”: Investigating stance in forensic and legal contexts. In Coulthard, M., May, A. and Sousa-Silva, R., eds., The Routledge Handbook of Forensic Linguistics, 2nd ed. London: Routledge. pp. 675–93.Google Scholar
Genette, G. (1997). Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerster, L., Kuschta, R., Hammer, D. & Schwieter, C. (2021). Stützpfeiler Telegram: Wie Rechtsextreme und Verschwörungsideolog:innen auf Telegram ihre Infrastruktur ausbauen. Berlin: Institute for Strategic Dialogue. www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ISD-Germany_Telegram.pdf.Google Scholar
Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In Cole, P. and Morgan, J. L., eds., Speech Acts. Leiden: Brill, pp. 4158. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004368811_003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golem. (2023). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. December 6, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golem&oldid=1185971233.Google Scholar
Guhl, J., Ebner, J. & Rau, J. (2020). The online ecosystem of the German far-right. London: Institute for Strategic Dialogue. www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ISD-The-Online-Ecosystem-of-the-German-Far-Right-English-Draft-11.pdf.Google Scholar
Guldimann, A. & Meloy, J. R. (2020). Assessing the threat of lone-actor terrorism: The reliability and validity of the TRAP-18. Forensische Psychiatrie, Psychologie, Kriminologie, 14(2), pp. 158–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haberl, F. J. (2020). The weapons of choice: Terrorist armament culture and the use of firearms in online propaganda and identity-building through cyberspace. In Eze, T., Speakman, L. and Onwubiko, C., eds., Proceedings of the 19th European Conference on Information Warfare and Security. Reading, UK: Academic Conferences and Publishing International, pp. 126–35.Google Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K. & Webster, J. (eds.) (2014). Text Linguistics: The How and Why of Meaning. Bristol: Equinox.Google Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K. & Hasan, R. (2014 [1976]). Cohesion in English, 9th ed., New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hempel, A., Meloy, J. R. & Richards, T. (1999). Offender and offense characteristics of a nonrandom sample of mass murderers. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 27(2), 213–25.Google ScholarPubMed
Hunter, M. & Grant, T. (2022). Killer stance: An investigation of the relationship between attitudinal resources and psychological traits in the writings of four serial murderers. Language and Law/Linguagem e Direito, 9(1), 4872. https://doi.org/10.21747/21833745/lanlaw/9_1a3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurt, M. (2020). Pledging To Harm: A Linguistic Analysis of Violent Intent in Threatening Language. [Doctoral dissertation, Aston University]. https://publications.aston.ac.uk/id/eprint/43031/6/HURT_MARLON_DAVID_2020.pdf.Google Scholar
Hurt, M. & Grant, T. (2019). Pledging to harm: A linguistic appraisal analysis of judgment comparing realized and non-realized violent fantasies. Discourse & Society, 30(2), 154–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/095792651881619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jäger, L., Kracher, V. & Manemann, T. (2021). Fashwave: Rechtsextremer Hass in Retro-Optik. de:hate report. Berlin: Amadeu Antonio Stiftung. www.amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de/wpcontent/uploads/2021/06/de.hate_Report02_Fashwave-1.pdf.Google Scholar
Jäger, R. & Landes, M. (2020). Das Leben danach – Das Attentat von Halle. Folge: Der Täter. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, December 7. www.mdr.de/mdr-sachsen-anhalt/podcast/das-leben-danach/das-attentat-von-halle-100.html.Google Scholar
Keane, W. (2003). Semiotics and the social analysis of material things. Language & Communication, 23(3/4), 403–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0271-5309(03)00010-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keen, F., Crawford, B. & Suarez-Tangil, G. (2020). Memetic Irony and the Promotion of Violence within Chan Cultures. Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats. https://crestresearch.ac.uk/resources/memetic-irony-and-the-promotion-of-violence-within-chan-cultures/.Google Scholar
Kiesling, S. F. (2009). Style as stance: Stance as the explanation for patterns of sociolinguistic variation. In Jaffe, A., ed., Stance: Sociolinguistic Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 171–94.Google Scholar
Koehler, D. (2019). The Halle, Germany, synagogue attack and the evolution of the far-right terror threat. CTC Sentinel, 12(11), 1420. https://doi.org/10.17606/5z9d-w597.Google Scholar
Kostadinovska-Stojchevska, B. & Shalevska, E. (2018). Internet memes and their socio-linguistic features. European Journal of Literature, Language and Linguistics Studies, 2(4), 158–69.Google Scholar
Kriner, M., Barbarossa, E., Bernardo, I. & Broschowitz, M. (2024). Behind the Skull Mask: An Overview of Militant Accelerationism. London: Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET). https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01‐171.Google Scholar
Kriner, M. (2022). An Introduction to Militant Accelerationism. Accelerationism Research Consortium, May 9, www.accresearch.org/shortanalysis/an-introduction-to-militant-accelerationism.Google Scholar
Kriner, M. & Ihler, B. (2022). Analysing Terrorgram publications: A new digital zine. Global Network on Extremism and Technology, September 12. https://gnet-research.org/2022/09/12/analysing-terrorgram-publications-a-new-digital-zine/.Google Scholar
Kruglanski, A., Jasko, K., Webber, D., Chernikova, M. & Molinario, E. (2018). The making of violent extremists. Review of General Psychology, 22(1), 107–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kupper, J. (2022). Preventing Attacks Using Targeted Violence Manifestos. Law Enforcement Bulletin, May 5. https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/preventing-attacks-using-targeted-violence-manifestos.Google Scholar
Kupper, J., Christensen, T. K., Wing, D., Hurt, M., Schumacher, M. & Meloy, J. R. (2022). The contagion and copycat effect in transnational far-right terrorism: An analysis of language evidence. Perspectives on Terrorism, 16(4), 426. www.universiteitleiden.nl/binaries/content/assets/customsites/perspectives-on-terrorism/2022/issue-4/kupper-et-al.pdf.Google Scholar
Kupper, J., Cotti, P. & Meloy, J. R. (2023). The Hanau terror attack: Unraveling the dynamics of mental disorder and extremist beliefs. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kupper, J. & Dittrich, M. (2023). The Reichsbürger coup: How the German covid-19 denier scene and anti-lockdown movement became a breeding ground for terrorism. Global Network on Extremism and Technology, January 18. https://gnet-research.org/2023/01/18/the-reichsburger-coup-how-the-german-covid-19-denier-scene-and-anti-lockdown-movement-became-a-breeding-ground-for-terrorism/.Google Scholar
Kupper, J. & Dittrich, M. (2024). Terrorgram’s propaganda: An overview of publications designed to incite accelerationist terrorism attacks. Accelerationism Research Consortium. https://www.accresearch.org/accreports/terrorgrams-propaganda-an-overview-of-publications-designed-to-incite-accelerationist-terrorism-attacks.Google Scholar
Kupper, J. & Meloy, J. R. (2021). TRAP-18 indicators validated through the forensic linguistic analysis of targeted violence manifestos. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 8(4), 174–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kupper, J. & Meloy, J. R. (2023). Going Dark: The Inverse Relationship between Online and On-the-Ground Pre-offence Behaviours in Targeted Attackers. London: Global Network on Extremism and Technology. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01‐162.Google Scholar
Kupper, J., Rękawek, K. & Kriner, M. (2023). Terrorgram’s first saint: Analyzing accelerationist terrorism in Bratislava. Accelerationism Research Consortium, March 29. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6193e52959704a0c3b5b4b0c/t/6421ecf5721fc579c2799737/1679944949837/ARC_Terrorgrams+First+Saint_Bratislava.pdf.Google Scholar
Langman, P. (2009). Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Leary, M. R., Kowalski, R. M., Smith, L. & Phillips, S. (2003). Teasing, rejection, and violence: Case studies of the school shootings. Aggressive Behavior, 29(3), 202–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.10061.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luckham, R. (1984). Armament culture. Alternatives, 10, 144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lunds Tingsrätt. (2021). Förundersökningsprotokoll, B4482-21 Aktbilaga 64, October 2021. [Lund district court, preliminary investigation report].Google Scholar
Macklin, G. (2022). Praise the saints. In Dafinger, J. and Florin, M., eds., A Transnational History of Right-Wing Terrorism: Political Violence and the Far Right in Eastern and Western Europe since 1900. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 216–40. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003105251-16.Google Scholar
Manemann, T. (2020). Rechtsterroristische Online-Subkulturen: Analysen und Handlungsempfehlungen. Berlin: Amadeu Antonio Stiftung. www.amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Broschu%CC%88re-Rechtsterroristische-Online-Subkulturen_pdf.pdf.Google Scholar
Martens, W. H. J. (2014). The hidden suffering of the psychopath. Psychiatric Times, 13(10). www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/hidden-suffering-psychopath.Google Scholar
Martin, J. R. & White, P. R. R. (2005) The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. New York: Palgrave/Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, J. R. (2004). Sense and sensibility: Texturing evaluation. In Foley, J., ed., Language, Education and Discourse. London: Continuum, pp. 270304.Google Scholar
Meguca, . (2019). Thread Meadhall.Google Scholar
Meloy, J. R. Sheridan, K. & Hoffman, J. (2008). Public figure stalking, threats, and attacks: The state of the science. In Meloy, J. R., Sheridan, L. and Hoffmann, J., eds., Stalking, Threatening, and Attacking Public Figures: A Psychological and Behavioral Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 435–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meloy, J. R., Hoffmann, J., Guldimann, A. & James, D. (2012). The role of warning behaviors in threat assessment: An exploration and suggested typology. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 30(3), 256–79.Google Scholar
Meloy, J. R., Hoffmann, J., Roshdi, K., Glaz-Ocik, J. & Guldimann, A. (2014). Warning behaviors and their configurations across various domains of targeted violence. In Meloy, R. and Hoffman, J., eds., International Handbook of Threat Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 3953.Google Scholar
Meloy, J. R., Hempel, A., Mohandie, K., Gray, T., Shiva, A. & Richards, T. (2004). A comparative analysis of North American adolescent and adult mass murderers. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 22, 291309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, C. R. (1984). Genre as social action. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70(2), 151–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/00335638409383686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, C. R. (2015). Genre change and evolution. In Artemeva, N. and Freedman, A., eds., Genre Studies around the Globe, beyond the Three Traditions. Bloomington: Trafford Publications, pp. 154–85.Google Scholar
Rundfunk, Mitteldeutscher. (2019). Anschlag in Halle: Stahlknecht schildert genauen Ablauf. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen-anhalt/halle/halle/pressekonferenz-stahlknecht-zu-anschlag-halle-100.html.Google Scholar
Mohandie, K. & Meloy, J. R. (2013). The value of crime scene and site visitation by forensic psychologists and psychiatrists. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 58(3), 719–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Musu, L., Zhang, A., Wang, K., Jizhi, Z. & Oudekerk, B. A. (2019). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2018. Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, DC. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019047.pdf.Google Scholar
Norrick, N. (2010). Humor in interaction. Language and Linguistics Compass, 4(4), 232–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2010.00189.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, J. J. (2024). Could the futility of terrorism inspire deradicalization? Narrative strategies arising from case studies of far-right lone-actor terrorism. Journal for Deradicalization, (38), 2880.Google Scholar
Nyboe, J. (2016). The game of the name: Genre labels as genre and signature. Scandinavian Studies, 88(4), 364392. https://doi.org/10.5406/scanstud.88.4.0364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Toole, M. E. & Smith, S. S. (2014). Fundamentals of threat assessment for beginners. International Handbook of Threat Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
O’Toole, M. E., Smith, S. S. & Hare, R. D. (2008). Psychopathy and predatory stalking of public figures. In Meloy, J. R., Sheridan, L. and Hoffmann, J., eds., Stalking, Threatening, and Attacking Public Figures. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 215–43.Google Scholar
Ochs, E. (1992). Indexing gender. In Duranti, A. and Goodwin, C., eds., Rethinking Context. Cambridge [England]; New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 335–58.Google Scholar
Papadopulos, M. (2022). Von digitalem Hass zu analoger Gewalt. Bedrohun gsmanagement ‘onlife’ – Destruktive Dynamiken in und aus Online-Räumen. Kriminalistik, 05/22, pp. 277–83.Google Scholar
Perliger, A. (2020). American Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Pook, L., Stanjek, G. & Wigard, T. (2021). Der Halle-Prozess: Mitschriften. Leipzig: Spector Books. https://spectorbooks.com/book/der-halle-prozess-mitschriften.Google Scholar
Ray, A., Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Roberts, S. E. & Gerbasi, K. C. (2017). Psychological needs predict fanship and fandom in anime fans. The Phoenix Papers, 3(1), 5668.Google Scholar
Schattka, C. (2020). Halle (Saale), 9. Oktober 2019. Protokoll eines Anschlags. Zeitschrift des Hamburger Instituts für Sozialforschung, Mittelweg 36, 29(4/5), 4562.Google Scholar
Schwarz, K. (2020). Hasskrieger: Der neue globale Rechtsextremismus. Freiburg: Verlag Herder.Google Scholar
Scrivens, R., Wojciechowski, T. W., Freilich, J. D., Chermak, S. M. & Frank, R. (2021). Comparing the online posting behaviors of violent and non-violent right-wing extremists. Terrorism and Political Violence, 35(1), 192209.https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2021.1891893.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Searle, J. R. (1979). A taxonomy of illocutionary acts. In Expression and Meaning: Studies in The Theory of Speech Acts, vol. I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Searle, J. R. (2008 [1965]). What is a speech act. In Hutchby, I., ed., Methods in Language and Social Interaction. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 116.Google Scholar
Sebba, M. (2012). Orthography as social action: Scripts, spelling, identity and power. In Jaffe, A., Androutsopoulos, J., Sebba, M. and Johnson, S., eds., Orthography as Social Action: Scripts, Spelling, Identity and Power. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 120.Google Scholar
Senate Rules Committee. (2016). California Legislative Information, SB 1189 Senate Bill. www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/sen/sb_1151-1200/sb_1189_cfa_20160531_094703_sen_floor.html.Google Scholar
Shuy, R. W. (2003). Discourse analysis in the legal context. In Tannen, D., Hamilton, H. E. and Schiffrin, D., eds., The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 2nd ed. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, pp. 822–40.Google Scholar
Shuy, R. W. (2015). Discourse analysis in the legal context. In Tannen, D., Hamilton, H. E. and Schiffrin, D., eds., The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 2nd ed. Malden: John Wiley & Sons, 822–40.Google Scholar
Simi, P. & Windisch, S. (2020). The culture of violent talk: An interpretive approach. Social Sciences, 9(7), 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9070120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simons, A. & Tunkel, R. F. (2021). The assessment of anonymous threatening communications. In Meloy, J. R. and Hoffman, J. H., eds., International Handbook of Threat Assessment, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 235–56.Google Scholar
Smith, S. S., O’Toole, M. E. & Hare, R. D. (2012). The predator: When the stalker is a psychopath. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 81(7), 913.Google Scholar
Smith, S. S., Woyach, R. B. & O’Toole, M.E. (2014). Threat triage: How to recognize the needle in the stack of disturbing and threatening communications. In Meloy, J. R. and Hoffmann, J., eds., International Handbook of Threat Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 321–9.Google Scholar
Smith, S. S. & Young, M. D. (2021). Threat triage: Recognizing the needle in the haystack. In Meloy, J. R. and Hoffmann, J., eds., International Handbook of Threat Assessment. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 507–21.Google Scholar
Squire, K. D. (2014). Video-game literacy: A literacy of expertise. In Coiro, J., Knobel, M., Lankshear, C. and Leu, D. J., eds., Handbook of Research on New Literacies. New York: Routledge, pp. 635–70.Google Scholar
Striegel, S. (2021). Bericht des 19: Parlamentarischen Untersuchungsausschusses. Landtag von Sachsen-Anhalt, Magdeburg. https://padoka.landtag.sachsen-anhalt.de/files/drs/wp7/drs/d7575vbt.pdf.Google Scholar
Swales, J. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Swales, J. M. (2016). Reflections on the concept of discourse community. Asp la revue du GERAS, 69, 719. https://doi.org/10.4000/asp.4774.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, H. & Turner, J. C. (1979) An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, 33(47), 33–27. Monterey, CA: Brooks and Cole.Google Scholar
Thompson, C. (2015). The Soul of Shame. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.Google Scholar
Thorleifsson, C. & Düker, J. (2021). Lone actors in digital environments. Radicalisation Awareness Network. Luxembourg: European Union. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-10/ran_paper_lone_actors_in_digital_environments_en.pdf.Google Scholar
Vagle, W. & Wikberg, K. (2001). New Directions in Nordic Text Linguistics and Discourse Analysis: Methodological Issues. Oslo: Novus.Google Scholar
Van der Meer, B., Meloy, J. R. & Hoffmann, J. (2017). The adult mass murderer in Europe and North America: The paranoid spectrum from distrust to delusion. Presentation at the 27th Annual Threat Management Conference of Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. Anaheim, California. https://secureservercdn.net/72.167.243.77/66f.213.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ATAP2017.pdf.Google Scholar
Van Dijk, T. A. (1977). Text and Context. Explorations in the Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse. London: Longman.Google Scholar
von Berg, A. (2019). Risk Assessment im Phänomenbereich gewaltbereiter Extremismus – State of the Art. Interventionen, 13, 415.Google Scholar
Wahlström, M. (2020). Chatten, hetzen, töten. Radikalisierung als Lernprozess. Mittelweg 36. Zeitschrift des Hamburger Instituts für Sozialforschung, 29, 6380.Google Scholar
Webb, J. (2022). Warriors and Waifus: Community responses to historical accuracy and the representation of women in total war: Three kingdoms. In Draycott, J., ed., Women in Historical and Archaeological Video Games. Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 101–38.Google Scholar
Weber, S. (2018). White supremacy’s old gods: The far right and neopaganism. Political Research Associates. February 1. https://politicalresearch.org/2018/02/01/white-supremacys-old-gods-the-far-right-and-neopaganism.Google Scholar
Welt. (2022). Halle-Attentäter nach Geiselnahme in bayrisches Gefängnis verlegt. Welt.de, www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article242790225/Halle-Attentaeter-nach-Geiselnahme-in-Bayern-inhaftiert.html.Google Scholar
Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
White, P. R. R. (2015). The Appraisal Website: The Language of Attitude, Arguability, and Interpersonal Positioning, April 8, 2024. www.grammatics.com/appraisal/Google Scholar
White, S. G. & Meloy, J. R. (2016). The WAVR-21: Workplace Assessment of Violence Risk Including Campus and Student Contexts, 3rd ed., San Diego: Specialized Training.Google Scholar
Wing, D. (2017). The Progression of Interpersonal Stances in the Writings of School Shooters. [Master thesis, Hofstra University]. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/openview/bcc29d777c8ebe9e9beb04a9eb86c942/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750.Google Scholar
Wray, C. (2021). Threats to the Homeland: Evaluating the Landscape 20 Years after 9/11. Statement before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, September 21. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation. www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/threats-to-the-homeland-evaluating-the-landscape-20-years-after-911-wray-092121.Google Scholar

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Decoding Terrorism
Available formats
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Decoding Terrorism
Available formats
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Decoding Terrorism
Available formats
×