DOMESTIC LONE WOLF TERRORISTS: AN EXAMINATION OF PATTERNS IN DOMESTIC LONE WOLF TARGETS, WEAPONS, AND IDEOLOGIES by Julie M. Gall A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Criminology, Law and Society Committee: ___________________________________________ Director ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Department Chairperson ___________________________________________ Program Director ___________________________________________ Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: _____________________________________ Fall Semester 2014 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Domestic Lone Wolf Terrorists: An Examination of Patterns in Domestic Lone Wolf Targets, Weapons, and Ideologies A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University By Julie M. Gall Master of Arts George Mason University, 2011 Bachelor of Arts University of Southern Maine, 2008 Co-Director: C. Allan Turner, Professor Emeritus Criminology, Law and Society Co-Director: Brian Lawton, Assistant Professor John Jay College of Criminal Justice Fall Semester 2014 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright: 2014 Julie M. Gall All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION This is dedicated to my mother, Sharon L. Gall, whose love and support was unwavering and memory continues to inspire me. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my Chair, Allan Turner. Your knowledge, mentorship, and support through this seemingly endless process, were the keys to my successful completion. I must thank my co-Chair Brian Lawton, and committee members Linda Merola and Ron Waldron for their time, guidance, and encouragement throughout this process. I would also like to thank Ken Glantz, my honorary committee member, whose subject matter expertise was invaluable during the drafting of this document. Also, I cannot forget to thank my family, who, in the most supportive manner possible, frequently asked how “my paper” was going. To Holly Stevens and Erin Crites, I must express the most heartfelt thank you one could give. Thank you for lending a supportive ear, having far more logical brains, and always taking the time to answer the most ridiculous of SPSS related questions. Oh, and the wine, I cannot thank you enough for partaking in the wine as we shared our triumphs and missteps over the past six years; as it has all lead up to this final moment! And to Sean, I don’t have the right words to thank for you, but I will try. Thank you for the reassuring hugs, comforting conversations, and for keeping me grounded, even when my stress levels were at an all-time high. I am confident that you would have never approached me to discuss the Dulles flight paths, had you known what the next six years of your life were about to throw at you. You have taken my meltdowns, tears, and pillow punching frustration in stride, and never once let me take myself, or my work, too seriously. It has been quite the journey and I couldn’t imagine anyone else I would have wanted to have along for the ride. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………viii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………...ix Abstract................................................................................................................……….x Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................…1 Purpose of Study ............................................................................................................2 Research Questions ........................................................................................................5 Organization of the Dissertation ....................................................................................5 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................7 Definition of Terrorism ..................................................................................................7 U.S. Federal Code Title 22, Chapter 38, Section 2656 ...............................................9 U.S. Federal Code Title 18, Chapter 113B, Section 2331 ..........................................9 Definition of Lone Wolf ..............................................................................................12 Brief History of Lone Wolf Terrorism .........................................................................16 Leaderless Resistance ..................................................................................................17 William Pierce’s Hunter and The Turner Diaries ........................................................19 Hunter .......................................................................................................................20 The Turner Diaries ....................................................................................................21 Domestic Lone Wolf Case Studies ..............................................................................23 Theodore (Ted) Kaczynski, the Unabomber .............................................................23 Eric Rudolph .............................................................................................................25 Weapons .......................................................................................................................26 Targets..........................................................................................................................29 Ideologies .....................................................................................................................30 Lethality .......................................................................................................................32 Identification and Detection .........................................................................................33 Impact of Technology ..................................................................................................35 Theoretical Foundation ................................................................................................36 Normality ..................................................................................................................37 Lone Wolves Differ ..................................................................................................38 Lone Wolves’ Psychological Basis is Poorly Studied ..............................................38 Characteristics ...........................................................................................................39 Advice for Lone Wolves ...........................................................................................41 Motivation .................................................................................................................42 Technology’s Influence on Ideology ........................................................................43 Symbolic Targets and Symbolism ........................................................................... 44 v Chapter 3: Methodology .................................................................................................46 Research Questions and Hypotheses ...........................................................................46 Data ...........................................................................................................................48 Data Collection .........................................................................................................49 Data for Analysis ......................................................................................................51 Variables ......................................................................................................................52 Date ...........................................................................................................................52 Location ....................................................................................................................53 Ideology ....................................................................................................................54 Target ........................................................................................................................55 Weapon .....................................................................................................................56 Successful Attack ......................................................................................................56 Casualties ..................................................................................................................57 Analysis........................................................................................................................58 Reliability .....................................................................................................................58 Limitations ...................................................................................................................60 Chapter 4: Results ...........................................................................................................62 Descriptive Statistics ....................................................................................................62