Nashville bombing raises fears of “lone” terrorist threats

The Nashville bombing raises new concerns about the “lone wolf” terrorist threats in the United States. Investigators believe the Nashville bomber acted alone to carry out the Christmas bombing in the city center. Three people were injured and dozens of buildings were damaged in the area.

Attackers of ‘Lone wolf’ are apparently some of the hardest to stop for law enforcement. Studies show that they are often “more trained and socially isolated than group-based actors.” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League.

“Subjects in the style of ‘lone wolves’ sometimes choose not to commit their crimes over a period of months,’ he said, ‘but within minutes.’

Although the Nashville bombing was not characterized as an act of domestic terrorism, the number of domestic terror cases under FBI investigation has increased in recent years. These types of attacks can be motivated by any number of grievances.

“I think everyone fits into the category of anti-government, anti-authority. It covers everything from anarchists, violent extremists to militias,” said Christopher Wray, director of the FBI.

While the militia that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer had a clear motive for earlier this year – which ended the state’s COVID-19 exclusion – is often more difficult for investigators to determine what motivates ‘loneliness’ , as in Nashville.

“It becomes very difficult to determine the nature of this individual and the crime he is trying to commit,” Greenblatt said.

Authorities named 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner as the bomber. Warner is believed to have died in the explosion of his RV. Before the explosion, he gave away some of his belongings and said he had cancer. The FBI is investigating whether this is true.

“It is clear that there was a precipitation that caused the action,” said David Rausch, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Mola Lenghi contributed to this report.