New Orleans attack and Vegas explosion highlight extremist violence by active military and veterans
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy While much remains unknown about the man who carried out an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s and another who died in an explosion in Las Vegas the same day, the violence highlights the increased role of people with military experience in ideologically driven attacks, especially those that seek mass casualties. But an Associated Press investigation published last year found that radicalization among both veterans and active duty service members was on the rise and that hundreds of people with military backgrounds had been arrested for extremist crimes since 2017. While the number of people with military backgrounds involved in violent extremist plots remains small, the participation of active military and veterans gave extremist plots more potential for mass injury or death, according to data collected and analyzed by the AP and START. The jihadist ideology of the Islamic State group apparently connected to the New Orleans attack would make it an outlier in the motivations of previous attacks involving people with military backgrounds.
History of this topic
New Orleans attack came as officials warned of an escalating threat of international terrorism
Associated Press
New Orleans attack came as officials warned of growing threat of international-inspired terrorism
LA Times
New Orleans attack: A look at the Islamic State group and ‘lone wolf’ terrorism
Live MintAP finds that a Pentagon-funded study on extremism in the military relied on old data
Associated Press
Experts explain why military vets are vulnerable to joining 'dangerous' groups that stormed the Capitol
Raw Story
Racist ‘extremists’ most dangerous: US intelligence report
Al Jazeera
US intelligence report says election fraud claims ‘will almost certainly’ spur more violence by domestic extremists
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