This brief will examine the surge in lone actor offenders communicating their grievances and ideology by way of online messaging and manifestos. The resurgence in contemporary manifestos conveying political or ideological rhetoric escalated after Anders Breivik’s 1500-page tract was emailed and uploaded to YouTube, outlining his motivation for the Norway attacks that killed 77 people in 2011. Breivik’s manifesto provided inspiration for countless other deadly terror attacks, including Tarrant’s 2019 Christchurch Mosque shooting that was livestreamed and resulted in 51 casualties. The livestream was stylized using a helmet camera to depict the appearance of first-person shooter games, adding competitive elements to the lethality of copycat offenders. The publication of manifestos on mainstream and encrypted platforms became the exemplar for lone actors seeking not only to emulate these acts, but to surpass the acts of those they idolized. The discourse within these manifestos predominantly outlined racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and incel ideologies, with various other nationalistic and white supremacist narratives interwoven with personal grievances unique to each offender. Mass shooter manifestos and messaging have become symbols or communicative signifiers of ideological allegiance to the extreme-right. It is through these so-called manifestos that otherwise unknown individuals commit heinous acts, emulating those they idolised in the belief that they too shall be venerated, and, thus, the manifesto maketh the man.
About the Author
Kristy Milligan
Sgt Kristy Milligan VA (Ret) was a member of the New South Wales Police Force for 16 years until 2021. Kristy completed her Masters of Terrorism and Security Studies with Distinction through the Australian Graduate School of Policing, Charles Sturt University, and will begin her PhD in 2022. Her PhD, with Victoria University, Melbourne, will focus on the evolution of symbolism in the XRW digital era. Her other areas of research include XRW idiosyncratic actors, including the Sovereign Citizen Movement, and symbolism in terrorist propaganda. Kristy has contributed to research on the exploitation of extremism during the Covid pandemic, and presented the paper’s findings to the 2021 AVERT symposium. She presented to CSU’s 2021 Threat Briefing series and the AFP’s CT Investigators Program, discussing the role of symbolism in terrorism and extremism. She is combining her operational and academic knowledge to create professional development programs on terrorism and extremism. Kristy is currently involved in the development of technology designed to aide law enforcement and government agencies in combating terrorism and extremism.
