Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE) refers to individuals and loose online networks who engage in violence primarily motivated by a hatred of society and a desire for its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability. Unlike traditional extremists, NVE actors lack a clear, overarching political, religious, or social ideology. Instead, their violence is often an end in itself, a way to gain notoriety and find meaning in a world they see as meaningless. Their acts of violence are often symbolic and theatrical, intended to generate shock and notoriety. It can be considered violence conducted simply for the sake of violence.
NVE individuals are often driven by misanthropy and deep-seated grievances against the world, which they view with profound despair and hopelessness. NVE networks foster in-groups that venerate previous mass attackers. Violence is portrayed to achieve fame and "sainthood" within these online communities. While not driven by a singular ideology, NVE subcultures often interact with and borrow symbols and language from other extremist movements. This can lead to a mix of different themes, like Satanism and neo-Nazism, in their rhetoric. Recent acts of targeted violence with a nexus to NVEs include the Annunciation Church attack in Minnesota, a shooting incident at a high school in Georgia, and the mass stabbing attack at a dance class in Southport that sparked violent riots in the town and across the United Kingdom.
Join us for a one-hour Open Call presentation exploring this emerging category of violent extremism, with discussion of the mindset and motives of adherents, their tactics, symbology and warning signs of radicalization and mobilization to NVE-inspired violence.
Presenter:
Steve Crimando, MA, CTM is the founder and principal of Behavioral Science Applications, LLC, a behavioral risk management consultancy. He is an emergency behavioral health clinician, educator, and crisis responder with nearly four decades of experience in the field. Steve is a Certified Threat Manager (CTM) with the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) and a Certified Master Trainer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Threat Evaluation and Reporting (NTER) program. He serves on the New Jersey Statewide Threat Assessment Team (NJ STAT) and is a cleared mental health partner to the FBI (NK) Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). Steve also serves as the Chair of the ASIS International Extremism & Political Instability Community (EPIC) and a member of the Human Threat Management Community. He is a published author frequently called upon by the media and the courts as an expert in extremism and targeted violence prevention.