While the targets were varied, the alleged assailants all claimed to be committed to furthering a cause. In her manifesto, Rupnow professed reverence for several mass killers, describing them in language that read like the musings of a teenage fan. Federal prosecutors filed excerpts from what they say is Casap’s manifesto, titled “Accelerate the Collapse,” linking him to nihilistic violent extremism. “We shouldn’t just lump everything into this new category,” Via said, adding that nihilistic violent extremism is more an evolving framework than a precise definition. “If we want to solve the problem, identifying the motivation correctly is important.”Some of the recent violence, nihilistic or not, may be traced to the nation’s increasingly aggressive political arguments, she said.

Source: Washington Post February 08, 2026 14:41 UTC