From Dot Coms to Pipe Bombs: Online Radicalization and Mobilization to Violence

This research proposes a mixed-methods approach to study online radicalization and mobilization to violence. The research team capitalizes on the ongoing efforts of four comprehensive open-source databases, including the American Terrorism Study (ATS), U.S. Extremist Crime Database (ECDB), U.S. Extremist Cybercrime Database (ECCD), and the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB), by integrating and enhancing these databases through additional data collection to conduct the most comprehensive comparative examination of risk factors associated with radicalization to terrorism and domestic extremist crime to date. This integrated database will allow to investigate the relative salience of risk and protective factors associated with a variety of offender types, including terrorists and violent extremists, non-violent extremist financial or material support offenders, non-violent extremist cyber-crime perpetrators, and violent but non-extremist hate crime offenders, and across multiple stages (i.e., precursor/radicalization, transaction, and aftermath) of terrorism-related events. This research has great potential for refining risk assessments and immediate relevance to law enforcement officials, other local leaders, and policymakers working to develop innovative solutions for mitigating pathways to terrorism and domestic extremist crime.  "Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law," and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR  200.210(a)(14). CA/NCF