Nebraska threat expert weighs in on UFC attack at White House
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – As the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to look into the planned attack on the White House during Sunday’s UFC fight, Dr. Erin Kearns has been studying counterterrorism for years.
Her research includes what motivates suspects and what the everyday person should be on the lookout for.
She described to Channel 8 her initial reaction to the news of the thwarted attacks.
“I was unfortunately not surprised that a large high-profile event like this would have been the target of a violent plot,” said Kearns.
Prof. Kearns is the director of law enforcement partnerships NCITE; The National Counter Terrorism Innovation Technology.
She says protection at events like Sunday, which was meant to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary, is multi-faceted and complex.
“This is typically going to have stakeholders from different law enforcement agencies, potentially oversight with federal law enforcement, as well as potentially private security, nearby businesses,” said Kearns.
The collaboration is not only meant to protect the event, but also the surrounding areas.
Despite this, individuals like Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, out of Omaha, will try doing so in cahoots with others across the country.
“This is something that is somewhat becoming more common where it is disparate actors who are connecting over the internet, perhaps have never even met each other in real life and are planning to engage in this real-life violence,” said Kearns.
Other trends include the use of unmanned aerial systems, or UAS.
So, how can the everyday person recognize it before it happens?
“One of the things that is so critically important and happened here is that one of the individuals who’s been arrested, his mother actually noticed behavioral changes in him,” said Kearns.
She adds that this is extremely critical during earlier stages.
“No one is expecting that someone’s mother is going to have all of the expertise to get to the bottom of what’s going on, but she did the right thing,” said Kearns.
“She alerted law enforcement who do have that expertise and to be able to look at this more holistically and see that there actually is a plot that was underway and being able to step in and thwart that actual plot.”
If you would like to learn more about the research from Dr. Kearns and her colleague, Dr. Tin Nguyen, you can access it here.
If you would like to access more research from NCITE, you can do so here.
