Whenever there's a high-profile mass shooting, one of the first questions we ask is "why?" What would lead someone to try to murder as many innocent people as possible?
In some cases, the motivation is clear, whether its mental illness, hatred towards a particular demographic, or just self-loathing combined with toxic narcissism. According to some officials, though, a growing number of mass killers and those who were caught before they could carry out their plans are motivated by nihilistic violent extremism.
A couple of weeks ago the FBI's Boston field office issued a release warning of "Nihilistic Violent Extremists Targeting Children and Vulnerable Victims Online." The FBI says there are violent online networks targeting and exploiting children and other vulnerable individuals across the United States. In other words, "lone wolf" killers may not be acting entirely on their own at all.
The FBI is investigating over 350 subjects nationwide who are tied to violent online networks commonly referred to as “764,” but there are many other offshoot networks and names. All 56 FBI field offices across the country are involved in these investigations, including FBI Boston.
“Simply put, what these juvenile predators are doing is depraved, and the tactics they’re using are ruthless. They’re pressuring at-risk youth and other vulnerable individuals into producing sexually explicit and harmful material to extort them. It’s sickening, really,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “We’re sounding the alarm on this extremely disturbing trend in hopes of preventing more children from becoming victims. By recognizing the warning signs, you can help protect your child from harm and help us stop a predator from hurting another child.”
The FBI went on to describe nihilistic violent extremism as an ideology intent on sowing chaos and facilitating the destruction of society.
These extremists often emerge from decentralized online networks and subcultures that glorify violence, mass killers, and self-harm. However, not all participants in these violent online networks are motivated by NVE. These subjects may be engaging in criminal activity for sexual gratification, social status, a sense of belonging, or for a mix of other reasons. Each case is evaluated individually to determine if Nihilistic Violent Extremism is involved. Regardless of motivation, the FBI takes each case seriously and works with its domestic and foreign law enforcement partners to ensure offenders are held accountable.
Mack Davis was 22-years old when he was arrested in Owosso, Michigan in 2024 after firing a sawed off .22 rifle at a neighbor's car and shed. After his arrest Davis admitted that he was planning on carrying out an attack on the local Democratic Party headquarters and a nearby watering hole called the Rainbow Bar that Davis believed to be a gay bar.
Though Davis is black, authorities found his handwritten journals to be full of white supremacy ideology, as well as hatred towards Jews, LGBTQ individuals, and Muslims.
Davis's defense attorney has said that his client was involved with the "764" network, and Davis himself admitted as much when he was interviewed by police after his arrest.
Davis told detectives, “I wanted to get it off my chest a long time ago because I wanted to try to get out of it and I didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. Once you watch the stuff and you realize that people are saying and they’re praising people and stuff like that, it starts to get — It starts to get very disturbing,” Davis also told detectives of his sinking into the internet netherworld of mass killings and serial killers.
A detective asked him, “Do you think they brainwashed you?”
“Yes, sir,” Davis responded.
His defense attorney said Davis’ participation made him feel “seen.”
Amy Cooter, the deputy director and co-founder of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism, says that NVE adherents don't just often reference other mass shooters in their own manifestos,. They idolize them.
Davis himself repeatedly wrote about the mall shooter in Greenwood, Indiana who was shot and killed by an armed citizen in 2022, but also admitted to being obsessed with other mass shooters.
Federal authorities said Davis was planning to emulate an anti-LGBTQ shooting carried out in Eastern Europe in 2022. He went so far as to replicate that shooter’s selfies he’d taken in his preparations for the attack. Those photos were included in the federal sentencing memo.
... “He had a clear interest in revering him, wanting to emulate him. He also had symbols of different kinds of white supremacist and other groups and mixed in with that,” she said. “Those are very unique markers, frankly, even among mass shooters, even among extremists, in terms of really branding themselves and their physical objects in accordance with this almost mythology that they’re expected to know to undergird their actions.”
This is a subculture where psychotic individuals are celebrated, where life has no meaning or purpose. So what do we do to combat it?
Cooter and her colleagues seem to be directing a lot of their focus on the online platforms where 764 exists. That's fine, but even if they can get the major players in social media to root out online "extremism", there are going to be platforms that welcome, or at least tolerate, the presence of these networks.
Parents have a huge role to play, given that 764 targets children and teens and tries to infect them with their nihilistic and violent ideology. I hate the idea of helicopter parenting, but we simply can't be blissfully unaware of what our kids are up to when they're online. Counter-programming is also important. We need to give these kids another perspective on the value of life to combat the idea that the world is broken and its best to burn it down; not after they've been exposed to these influences, but long before they ever get online.
We need to be emotionally involved and present in the lives of our children instead of getting lost in screens ourselves. If the kids and young adults who are falling prey to this twisted ideology are looking to be seen, I'd argue that the most important people to see them should be their mothers and fathers.
Finally, we need to be aware of this growing threat and act accordingly. Violent crime has fallen to historic lows, which is a wonderful thing. At the same time, we cannot be complacent about the sick souls in our society who fantasize, plot, and carry out their plans to murder as many innocents as possible. We should be exercising our Second Amendment rights at every opportunity, because while those threats may be rare, that doesn't mean they're not real.
