Introduction

• Author: Amos N. Guiora
• Pages: 14-23

xiii

Introduction

The terrible attack on March 15, 2019, in two mosques in

Christchurch, New Zealand, committed by Brenton Harrison

Tarrant that resulted in 50 deaths and 50 injuries recalls the

attack in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylva-

nia, on October 27, 2018, committed by Robert Bowers that

killed 11 people and the July 22, 2011, terrorist attack in Nor-

way committed by Anders Breivik that resulted in 85 deaths

and over 200 wounded.

All three attacks were committed by lone-wolf white

supremacists deliberately targeting their victims. Tarrant, like

Breivik, had created a manifesto expressing his hate-filled

viewpoint. Tarrant, like Bowers, used social media—Bowers

to express his intention, Tarrant to record and post the attack.

The impact from the actors’ perspective is immediate, dra-

matic, and wide reaching. This represents an important and

profound shift from multiple perspectives. From the actors’

perspective, social media enables the attack to be reminiscent

of “all the world’s a stage.” From the perspective of “fellow

travelers,” it creates an online community that reaffirms their

belief system in an immediate and dramatic manner, reinforc-

ing shared opinions that can serve to encourage others. From

the perspective of counterterrorism and national security offi-

cials, it requires recognition that not only are lone-wolf actors

committed to their cause but also their willingness to effec-

tively and dramatically use social media enables them to dis-

seminate their message immediately, literally during the course

of the attack. With respect to lone-wolf white supremacists,

there is little doubt that the deliberate targeting of minority

communities (Jewish in Pittsburgh, Muslim in Christchurch)

cli54911_00_fm_i-xxii.indd 13 7/30/19 5:12 PM