The Lone Wolf – Solo Terrorism and the Challenge of Preventative Prosecution

Abstract

On September 11, 2001, as we will never forget, al-Qaeda’s elaborate planning and deployment of numerous terrorist agents resulted in shocking destruction and 2,976 deaths. Since the time of those shattering atrocities, though, threats within our borders have centered increasingly not on concerted activities but on solo actors of terrorism. This emerging threat – often described as “Lone Wolf Terrorism” – has seen efforts that were tragically successful including the 2009 shooting rampage that left thirteen dead at Fort Hood. Others have come frighteningly close to carnage, such as the 2010 attempt to detonate explosives in Times Square. Reports indicate that in recent years most Islamic terrorist plots in the United States do not employ multiple agents in concert and instead are perpetrated by a “Lone Wolf.” Recognizing this growing danger, President Barack Obama observed that single actor terrorism was “the most likely scenario that we have to guard against right now.” When an individual acts alone – and does not communicate destructive intentions to others – that per-