UMass Lowell Counterterrorism Professor Available for Interviews
01/07/2021
Contact for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
The unprecedented violence at the U.S. Capitol yesterday has exposed how vulnerable the government is to attack and fueled a greater need to protect democracy, according to a UMass Lowell counterterrorism expert available for interviews.
Four people were killed and several others injured as hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building and grounds, disrupting – but ultimately not derailing – yesterday’s vote by Congress to certify Joe Biden as the country’s next president. Police seized and safely detonated two explosive devices and made dozens of arrests.
The potential for this type of insurrection was well known to counterterrorism experts, according to Arie Perliger, a UMass Lowell authority on political extremism who believes the police response was inadequate.
“What a colossal failure of our law enforcement. Nothing in what is going on in Washington, D.C. should have been a surprise to anyone. Again and again, militia leaders declared in their own voice their violent intentions. It is unforgivable that we still failed to be prepared,” Perliger said. “The political institutions of our democracy are under siege, and as we know from the past, democracies must defend themselves in the most vigorous ways possible.”
Perliger is available to discuss:
- Strategies to quell any potential for more violence;
- Next steps to increase security;
- The roots of political extremism.
Perliger is the author of “American Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism.” He is a professor in UMass Lowell’s School of Criminology and Justice Studies, where he directs the graduate program in security studies.
To arrange an interview with Perliger via phone, email or Zoom (or another platform), contact Nancy Cicco at Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, 978-934-4944.