RESEARCH

POSTED ON December 19, 2022

How Far-Right Terrorists Choose Their Enemies

 

The decision to attack two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019 was an odd targeting choice. As part of a manifesto released shortly before the violence erupted, the gunman claimed that he “only really took true inspiration from Knight Justiciar Breivik,” the Norwegian white supremacist who killed 77 people – mostly children and youths – in twin attacks targeting the government and the Norwegian Labour Party eight years earlier. He even claimed he received “a blessing for [his] mission after contacting his brother knights.” And yet, Brenton Tarrant had completely ignored one of Breivik’s cardinal rules, laid out in the latter’s own manifesto: “DO NOT for the love of God aim your rage and frustration at Muslims. 

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