In: Meloy JR, Sheridan L, Hoffmann, J., eds. (2008).

Stalking, Threatening and

Attacking Public Figures: A Psychological and Behavioral Analysis. New York: Oxford
University Press, pp. 143-162.

The Public Figure Assassin As Terrorist

James Biesterfeld and J. Reid Meloy

According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, terrorism is

defined as: The unlawful use of force or violence committed by a group or individual
against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population,
or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (FBI, 28 CFR,
Section 0.85). Although the history of public figure stalking, attacks, and assassinations is
largely a product of the behavior that would not fit this definition, there are a subgroup of
individuals who carry out stalking and attacks that would specifically meet this definition
of terrorism. We offer this chapter as a counterpoint to the emphasis upon other
motivations and the predominance of mentally ill individuals that characterize much of
the contemporary research in this area. Our interest is the subject who stalks and
attempts to kill a public figure to explicitly further a political, social, or in some cases,
religious objective.

THE ASSASSINS 12TH CENTURY MURDER, INCORPORATED

One of the earliest examples of terrorism in this context would be that of the
Hashisheen. They were a sect of Shia Islam known as the Ismailis believers in the
restoration of Ismail as the Mahdi of Islam. The founder of the order, Hasan bin Sabah,

held ultra-conservative interpretations of Islamic philosophy and felt that anyone who did
not believe as he did became a legitimate target for death. Sabahs philosophy also
espoused total obedience to the founder. In point of fact, Sabah had established rules for
entry into his order that rather parallels many of the attributes of modern cults:
The First Rule was that the Missionary must know human psychology in such a way as
to be able to select suitable people for admission to the cultthe second rule of
procedure was the application of flattery and gaining the confidence of the prospective
member. Third came the casting of doubt into the mind, by superior knowledge.
Fourthly, the teacher must apply an oath to student never to betray and of the truths
which were to be revealed to him. Now he was told, as the fifth stage, that Ismailism was
a powerful secret organization, supported by some of the most important figures of the
time (Daraul, 1961/1989).
Hasan bin Sabah was born in what is now Iran and spent his formative years as a
Shia Twelver as his father had been before him.
However, as Hasan grew he ultimately embraced the
Ismaili tenets of faith and was mentored by some of
the powerful Ismailis of that time. He traveled to the
court of the Fatamid Caliph in Cairo and remained
there for several years until he returned to his
homeland, always spreading the word of the Ismaili
faith and garnering many converts to his philosophy.
Hasan became a thorn in the side of the ruling Seljuk
Sultans as well as other Sunni and Shia fiefdoms who sought his arrest and execution.

This compelled Hasan to establish a location for his own sanctuary. Ultimately, he and
his followers conquered a fortress at Alamut, Iran, where he remained until his death 35
years later.
Alamut became his base of operations and he continued to send missionaries
throughout the regions spreading his faith. His enemies continued to harass his
followers and he became a target of the Sultans vizier (prime minister) Nizam al-Mulk.
It was at this time that Hasan began the effort for which his group became best known
assassination. His first target, and his first success, was Nizam al-Mulk. The assassin
took the command of his leader and went in disguise to approach Nizam al-Mulk,
whereupon the assassin killed al-Mulk with a dagger. Although the assassin was killed
almost instantly, this act established Hasan as a major player in the region.
For the next decade, Sabahs minions obtained additional fortresses in the region
extending to Isfahan in modern day Iran. Additionally, his emissaries covertly
conducted missionary work, spreading the Ismaili vision of Islam and obtaining
additional converts. During the remainder of his life, Sabah commissioned at least 50
assassinations. His son, Hasan, succeeded Sabah upon his death in 1142 CE and
continued his fathers legacy of assassinations, some of them worthy of note:

ASSASSINATION OF CONRAD, MARQUIS DE

MONTFERRAT (April 28, 1192)
Conrad, who ruled Tyre during the Third
Crusade, was not well liked by Saladin and the
Muslim population. Exactly who commissioned the

assassination through the Ismaili sect was not exactly known and has been attributed to
both Saladin a military enemy of Conrad, and Richard, King of England, for whom
Conrad was a political rival. Chronicled by the contemporary historian Imad ad-Din, the
event was described as follows: Meanwhile he lounged carelessly on his couch eating
his food. He ate and made his collation, unaware of the precipice ahead of him; he ate
and drank, sated and solaced himself, and went out and rode his horse. Suddenly, two
men fell on him like two mangy wolves and with their daggers stopped his movement
and struck him down near those shops. Then one of them fled and entered a church,
having put out that vile soul. The Marquis, at deaths door, but still with a flicker of life
in him, said, Take me into the church, and they took him in thinking that he was safe
there. But when that one of the two murderers saw him, he fell on him to finish him off
and struck him again, blow on blow. The Franks seized the two companions, and found
that they were two apostates of the Brotherhood of Ismailites. They asked them who had
commanded them to commit this murder, and the assassins said it was the King of
England. They also said that they had been Christians for six months and had begun a
life of asceticism and purification, frequenting churches and living lives of rigorous piety.
One was in service with Ibn Barzan and one with the Prince of Sidon so they could both
be close to the Marquis, ensuring his confidence in them by their constant presence.
(Gabrieli, 1993, p. 238).

The famed Muslim general Saladin himself was not entirely safe from the reach
of the Assassins. By 1181-2, a man named Sinan had been promoted to chief of the
assassins in Syria. In letters to the Caliph in
Baghdad, Saladin accused the rulers of Mosul of
being in league with the Assassins and using them
as a mediation tool with the Franks (the common
name given for the Crusaders of the time). This
raised the ire of Sinan, who proclaimed Saladin as
the chief enemy of his sect. But attempts on
Saladins life began 10 years earlier when
Assassins were commissioned by the vezir of
Aleppo through Sinan to kill Saladin who had
besieged the city. The first attempt occurred in 1174-75, during the siege of Aleppo
(Lewis, 1967). According to Saladins biographers, the regent of Aleppo, Gumushtigin,
engaged Sinan to kill the great general. The appointed emissaries (assassins) penetrated
the camp on a cold winters day, but were recognized by the emir of Abu Qubais, a
neighbor of theirs. He questioned them, and was at once killed. In the ensuing fracas
many people were killed, but Saladin himself was unscathed. (Lewis, 1967, p. 133).
Yet Sinan was not done and had a second attempt made on Saladin. Again, Lewis
describes the event, In the following year, Sinan decided to make another attempt, and
on 22 May 1176, Assassins, disguised as soldiers in his army, attacked him with knives
while he was besieging Azaz. Thanks to his armour, Saladin received only superficial

wounds, and the assailants were dealt with by his emirs, several of whom perished in the
struggle (Lewis, 1967, p. 133).
Saladin did not sit idly by after these attempts. The power of the Assassins in the
Holy Land had expanded to the point where Saladin felt that they needed to be dealt with
as any other armed enemy. Accordingly, Saladin took his army to the Syrian
headquarters of the Assassins and laid siege to the fortress at Masyaf. The story is as
follows and is based on an account by the Ismaili chronicler Abu Firas (Lane-Poole,
1898):
When Saladin laid siege to Masyaf, Sinan was absent, and the kings summons to
surrender reached him at a village near Radamus. He told the messenger that he must
have a personal interview with Saladin; and then, since access to Masyaf was blocked by
the leaguer, he retired with only two companions to the top of a neighbouring mountain,
whence he looked down upon the siege and awaited the event. Saladin, believing that he
had the arch-enemy in his power, sent a body of troops to surround him; but hostile
soldiers and peaceful messengers were alike held back by a mysterious force which
numbed their limbs. Such was the miraculous power of the holy Master, in whom his
followers were taught to recognize a veritable incarnation of Divine Reason. The awed
reports of his baffled and perplexed envoys worked upon Saladins fears. He
remembered the two former attempts upon his life, and began to doubt whether anything
human could save him from the supernatural agencies of this devil or saint. He had chalk
and cinders strewed around his tent, to detect secret footsteps; his guards were supplied
with linklights, and the night watches were frequently relieved. But unearthly terrors
surrounded him, and his sleep was troubled. One night the watchers on the battlements

of Masyaf perceived a spark like a glow-worm slowly gliding down the hill where the
Master sat. It vanished among the tents of the Saracens. Presently Saladin awoke from
his uneasy dreams to see a figure gliding out at the tent door. Looking round he noticed
that the lamps had been displaced, and beside his bed lay some hot scones of the shape
peculiar to the Assassins, with a leaf of paper on the top, pinned by a poisoned dagger.
There were verses on the paper:
By the Majesty of the Kingdom! What you possess will escape you, in spite of all,
but victory remains to us;
We acquaint you that we hold you, and that we reserve you till your reckoning be paid

Saladin gave a great and terrible cry, and the guard and the officers rushed in. He
showed them the scones, the dagger, the verses. The dread Master had been actually at
his pillow: it was nothing short of a miracle. (Lane-Poole, 1898, p. 119).
It was shortly thereafter that Saladin ended his siege and departed from the
Assassins territory. While this account was that of one of Sinans fans, sorcery aside,
such accounts did much for the fearsome reputation established by the Assassins for three
centuries.
It also pointed out some interesting methodology that bears awareness in our
modern age. The Assassins were a classic cult and as such, displayed certain
characteristics. First, the Assassins were ruled by a charismatic leader who demanded
total authority (one story has it that while being visited by a vizier [a close political
advisor] from the Sultans court, Sabah commanded a guard to throw himself from a
tower to his death on the rocks below to demonstrate his complete control of his core
followers).

Secondly, Sabah and his successors used a variety of controlling techniques over
their followers to maintain dominance. One could allow that the Ismailis were operating
on two levels: the public and the private, or more correctly, the overt and the covert. The
Old Man of the Mountain, as the leader was called, would send out his emissaries to
preach the Ismaili faith to the general public. From those public efforts, recruits who
demonstrated special qualities (i.e. fully committed, easily manipulated, and
disaffected from their families) were sent to the fortresses for in-depth indoctrination into
the Ismaili faith and training in the art of assassination.
Thirdly, these recruits were the victims of total isolation social and physical
while in training. They were subsequently sent out either as emissaries or as killers and
deemed necessary by the leadership.
Fourth, due to their training these converts would exhibit fanatical behavior that
would be regularly reinforced by additional training and tasking by the leadership.
Finally, cults would deeply enmesh themselves in secrecy and deception. This
was especially true of the Assassins who would enter into treaties and relationships with
anyone they felt would benefit such an effort. They would routinely abrogate such
agreements or treaties as it suited them to do so.
Their training techniques included how to kill in close quarters (Close Quarters
Battle or CQB in our modern terminology), reconnaissance and surveillance, disguise,
deception, and undercover operations. Training was a continuing aspect that allowed the
leadership to continue its control of the recruits who believed they were being called by
God to do that work. The story regarding martyrdom and being rewarded in the afterlife
with 72 virgins was originated by the Assassins as an additional incentive for their

sacrifice. Sabah went so far as to take a portion of the fortress at Alamut and convert it
into heaven. Recruits who were preparing for an assassination mission were allowed to
celebrate prior to their mission. This included the use of hashish that caused severe
intoxication of the recruits to the point of partial or full loss of consciousness. Once
unconscious, the recruits were taken from the party room to the heaven created by
Sabah which included soft grass, wines, hashish, and young women. Aroused into
consciousness, they would continue their partying until unconsciousness befell them
again, whereupon they were removed to the original celebration room. Once the recruits
recovered from their partying, Sabah would ask them how their trip to heaven was--God
had given him charge over angels who had transported the recruits to heaven as a
demonstration of what the afterlife would be like. Needless to say, the recruits were even
more impressed by Sabahs power and eager to complete their assassinations.
Once dispatched, the assailants would, for all practical purposes, stalk their target. Often
they would obtain jobs or positions that would allow them access to the target on a
recurring basis. They would learn his habits and routines, allowing them to select the
most auspicious moment to attack and kill. This methodology would be repeated
throughout the centuries by many stalkers and political/terrorist assassins.

CONTEMPORARY ASSASSINS AS TERRORISTS

ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT WILLIAM MCKINLEY
On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley attended the Pan American
Exposition in Buffalo, New York. A receiving line had been set up at the Temple of
Music pavilion where President McKinley was meeting members of the public and

shaking hands with well-wishers. As the line progressed, the president was approached
by a young man whose right hand
appeared to be heavily bandaged. As the
young man got close to President
McKinley, it became apparent that the
bandage concealed a firearm and two
shots rang out. McKinley was struck by
both bullets, once in the chest and once in
the abdomen. Secret Service agents who
had been standing nearby, jumped on the
assailant, aided by a civilian who had just shaken the presidents hand. McKinley
slumped to the ground and was taken to a nearby hospital. Although initial reports from
medical personnel indicated that the presidents injuries were not severe and that he was
expected to recover, McKinley died from his wounds in 8 days, due principally to
infection and the inability at the time to detect the damage caused by the bullets.
The assailant, Leon Czolgosz, an avowed Anarchist, was tried, convicted and
executed in the electric chair 45 days after the attack. Czolgosz (pronounced Tslgsh)
told investigators at the time that he had been inspired to kill McKinley by the writings
and speeches of Emma Goldman.
I am an anarchist a disciple of Emma Goldman. Her words set me on fire.
Leon Czolgosz,

(testimony to

the district attorney, Sept. 7, 1901,

reported by the Buffalo Evening

News, p. 9)
Czolgosz had actually met Goldman on two occasions prior to the assassination, both in
public forums. Based on Czolgosz statements, Goldman
and several other notable Anarchists of the time were
arrested and held while the investigation was conducted.
However, the investigation indicated that no conspiracy
existed, that Czolgosz had acted alone. Not that
Czolgosz was idolized by the Anarchists themselves. In
point of fact, several Anarchists had written in their
publications that Cszologsz was actually a government spy and not to be trusted
(National Archives, article by Abraham Isaak in the anarchist journal Free Society,
1901). Yet, Czolgosz attributed his efforts to the Anarchist philosophy and felt that he
had done his duty as he was reported to have written after the attack (Buffalo Evening
News, Sept. 7, 1901, p. 9).
Between 1894 and 1900 anarchists murdered the President of France, the Premier
of Spain, the Empress of Austria and the King of Italy (Warren, et al, 1964). The Secret
Service felt that action taken against the anarchist movement in Europe in the wake of
these assassinations was compelling them to leave Europe and come to the US.
Unfortunately, US presidents continued to move about with minimal protection, and no
substantive changes to presidential protection occurred until after McKinleys death.
In his confession Czolgosz stated that he had no personal enmity towards the
President, but that he did not believe in rulers of governments of any kind. He stated, I

dont believe that one man should have so much service and another man should have
none. At his execution, Czolgosz referred to the President as an enemy of the good
people the good working people. He expressed no remorse for his crime (Warren et
al., 1964, p. 510).
Although Czolgosz was deemed sane at the time of the assassination, there are some
who contend that he suffered from some mental problems, possibly paranoid
schizophrenia. In 1898, Czolgosz had suffered a mental breakdown, but there was no
additional information regarding the nature of this incident. Inquiries made about a year
after Czolgosz execution by two alienists offered their opinion that he had been
delusional (Warren et al., 1964). An article in the American Journal of Insanity reviewed
the psychiatric evaluation of Czolgosz prior to his trial:
If Czolgosz was a victim of mental disease the question would
[381][382] naturally arise as to what form of that disorder he was
suffering from. If, in answer to this question, we undertake to make a
diagnosis by exclusion, we find the following results: There was absolutely
no evidence of insane delusion, hallucination or illusion. There was none
of the morbid mental exaltation or expansiveness of ideas that would
suggest mania in any form, none of the morbid mental gloom and
despondency of melancholia, none of the mental weakness of dementia,
none of the conjoined mental or motor symptoms that are characteristic of
paresis, nor was there anything in his manner, conduct or declarations
that would suggest the morbid vanity and egotism, the persecutory ideas
or the transformation of personality which usually characterize paranoia

or systematized delusional insanity. In fact, at no time during the period

from his arrest to the time of his execution, did he exhibit any of the
mannerisms, boastful display, etc., or claim to have a divine inspiration
or a mission, or make any complaint or suggestion of personal wrongs
and persecutions which are so characteristic of paranoiacs; nor did he,
during his trial, or subsequently, evince any indication of satisfaction or
delight at being the central figure of the occasion and the observed of all
the observed which he was; nor was there any attempt on Czolgosz part
to simulate mental diseases. The refusal to talk with his counsel was
perfectly consistent with the views which he expressed to the District
Attorney soon after his arrest, namely, that he did not believe in law and
that he wanted no counsel. He did however, converse with others, namely,
the District Attorney from time to time before his trial, also with his
guards at the Buffalo jail, with whom he frequently walked in the corridor
fronting his cell for an hour or two at a time, conversing with them
intelligently the while and making his wants as to bathing, toilet, tobacco,
etc., known in a natural manner. He also conversed freely with the
peoples experts in their earlier examinations of him, and talked, though
not so freely, with Dr. Hurd and myself, and when on arraignment for trail
and formally asked to plead he promptly arose from his chair and
answered in a clear voice, guilty. He also responded promptly when
directed by the clerk of the court to stand up and look upon the juror as
each of the jurors was sworn, and resumed his seat in each instance

[382][383] at the proper time. Beyond this he remained mute while in the
court room, and yet to any one who observed him closely it was apparent
that he was fully aware of, and attentive to the proceedings. (MacDonald,
1902, p. 369-86).

Prior to the assassination, Czolgosz was obsessed with Gaetano Bresci, assassin
of the King of Italy several years before (Fischer, 2001). It was even said that Czolgosz
had a clipping of this event that he kept in his wallet and would re-read from time to time.
Perhaps his admiration of Brescis attack provided the impetus for Czolgosz to commit
his act.
During the last five years I have had as friends anarchists in Chicago,
Cleveland, Detroit and other Western cities, and I suppose I became more
or less bitter. Yes, I know I was bitter. I never had much luck at anything,
and this preyed upon me. It made me morose and envious, but what
started the craze to kill [439] [440] was a lecture I heard some little time
ago by Emma Goldman. She was in Cleveland, and I and other anarchists
went to hear her. She set me on fire. Her doctrine that all rulers should
be exterminated was what set me to thinking, so that my head nearly split
with the pain. and when I left the lecture, I had made up my mind that I
would do something heroic for the cause I loved.

- Leon Czolgosz

(testimony to district attorney, reported in the Buffalo Evening News,

Sept. 7, 1901, p. 9).

As with any act of terrorism, this public figure attack involved some degree of
planning and methodology. From his testimony, Czolgosz was in Chicago on or about
August 29th, 1901 and read a newspaper that stated that President McKinley would be at
the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Czolgosz traveled to Buffalo that
day by train. His statement indicated that he intended to shoot the President, but had not
yet formed a plan (MacDonald, 1902).
Once in Buffalo, Czolgosz rented a room at a local bar and hotel owned by a
Polish-American. He stated that he went to the Exposition a couple of times a day.
Czolgosz stated that it was not until September 3rd that he firmly decided to make the
attempt on the President. It was on this day that Czolgosz purchased a .32 caliber
revolver and ammunition. That evening Czolgosz went to the Exposition grounds near
the railroad gate, where McKinley was arriving that day. McKinley exited his train and
entered the grounds, but Czolgosz stated that, although he was close to the President, he
was afraid to attempt the assassination because of the number of bodyguards that were
present, and he feared that he would be discovered and fail in his attempt. Czolgosz
stated that he returned to the Exposition on September 4th and was able to stand very near
McKinley during a presidential speech. He decided not to make the attempt because the
crowd was large and he was being jostled frequently which could have thrown off his
aim. Czolgosz waited until Thursday, the 5th of September, but could not get close
enough for a clear shot. So he returned on the morning of the 6th to the Exposition
grounds. Emma Goldmans speech was still burning me up. I waited near the central
entrance for the President, who was to board his special train from that gateI stayed on
the grounds all day waiting(Buffalo Evening News, Sept. 7, 1901, p. 9). Czolgosz then

got the idea of wrapping his handkerchief around his revolver in his hand so that he could
bring the weapon to bear quickly. He went to the Temple of Music where a final
reception for McKinley was to be held before his departure. Czolgosz got into line and
waited his turn. I got in line and trembled and trembled, until I got right up to him, and
then I shot him twice through my white handkerchief. I would have fired more, but I was
stunned by a blow in the face, a frightful blow that knocked me down (Buffalo
Evening News, Sept. 7, 1901, p. 9).
Czolgosz stated that he had committed himself to his act, conducted research on
the whereabouts of his target, selected the location of the attack and conducted
reconnaissance of the location preparatory to the attack itself. Although his entire
operation took only about 8 days to design and implement, his methodology has been
used by assassins throughout history.
Clarke (1982) identified four types of U.S. Presidential assassins:

Type I assassins view their act as a probable sacrifice of self for a

political ideal.

Type II assassins are persons with overwhelming and aggressive

egocentric needs for acceptance, recognition and status.

Type III assassins are psychopaths who believe that the condition
of their lives is so intolerably meaningless and without purpose
that destruction of society and themselves is desirable for its own
sake.

Type IV assassins are characterized by severe emotional and

cognitive distortions that are expressed in hallucinations and

delusions of persecutions and/or grandeur. As a rule, their acts are

mystically divinely inspired in a word, irrational or insane.
Clarkes work, and the typologies and motivations of other research groups which
followed (see chapter 1 for a review, this volume), have consistently identified a small
portion of stalkers, attackers, and assassins of public figures who are motivated to
advance a political, social, or religious agenda. Although a minority in relation to all
others who pursue public figures, their acts of violence are often very rational and
effective in the context of their belief system, although the wished for outcome is often a
grandiose elaboration of what actually occurs.
In the first part of this chapter a 12th century organization was examined that had a
hierarchy, a membership of committed individuals, a radical ideology that promoted the
assassination of opponents, and a methodology that resulted in a high percentage of
success. Our second example 700 years later, Leon Czolgosz, was not under the
influence of a command and control hierarchy, nor was he a member of an autonomous
cell; and in fact, he was mistrusted by other Anarchists and remained an associate of this
extremist political philosophy not on the basis of peer influence or pressure, but his own
internal commitment. He was a solo operator, radicalized over a period of a few years,
and developed a methodology while on the fly. Nevertheless, he targeted a public
figure and successfully carried out his attack, despite some retrospective opinion that he
might have also been mentally ill.
Our next case is also contemporary, yet combines the command and control of the
Assassins with a desire to advance the establishment of the Caliphatea pure Islamist
state ruled by the law of Sharia as opposed to the politico-religious caliphate from the 8th

to the 20th centuries--through the killing of a political leader, a terrorist act that deviates
from the popular notion that terrorism requires the targeting of a civilian population.

ANWAR SADAT AND THE EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD

Anwar Sadat was President of Egypt during a very volatile period of modern
history. Once considered a radical terrorist himself, Sadat
eventually worked his way through the nationalistic regime of
Gamal Abdul Nasser until he became Interim President upon
Nassers sudden death on September 28th, 1970. Sadat was
elected as President on October 5th, 1970 as Nassers government
cronies felt that Sadat could be easily manipulated. Sadat
surprised them all, however, when six months into his presidency he effectively fired
all of Nassers former associates and became his own man. His presidency was a roller
coaster of public support and animosity. He became a hero of the Arab (Muslim) world
when he orchestrated the 1973 surprise attack against Israel in association with Assad of
Syria. This popularity was somewhat short-lived as Sadat did two things that effectively
caused his assassination: he fully participated in the 1978 Camp David Accords at the
behest of President Jimmy Carter which effectively made peace between Egypt and
Israel; and he began a crackdown on dissent of all kinds in 1981, in particular the radical
Islamists (Weaver, 1999)typically members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
These events caused outrage across the Arab (Muslim) world. A feeling
of betrayal permeated Egypts more fervent Muslims, and action was
forthcoming.

Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a splinter group from the Muslim

Brotherhood, began to plan Sadats assassination in 1981. Allegedly, a radical

cleric, Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the Blind Sheik, issued a fatwa
(religious edict) approving the assassination of Sadat for his crimes against
Islam. Members of EIJ had infiltrated the Egyptian military and it was these
assets that were called upon to commit the killing. Information regarding the
specific planning of the operation is a bit sparse; however, it is known that Lt.
Khalid Islambouli appeared to be the commander of the assault team that carried
out the assassination. A total of six attackers appeared to have been involved in
the assault.
On October 6,1981 Sadat was in the reviewing
stand at the annual Victory Day parade. Being an
annual event, the attackers were well aware of
where their target was going to be. Additionally,
Sadats security apparatus was also well-known. According to various press
accounts, and as the news video shows, while the parade moved along a troop
truck containing the attackers stopped directly in front of the reviewing stand. Lt
Islambouli dismounted the vehicle and approached it. President Sadat stood to
receive what he thought would be the officers salute. Other soldiers rose up from
the back of the vehicle and began to throw hand grenades and open fire with
assault rifles. Islambouli then ran to the reviewing stand and shot Sadat pointblank in the head, shouting, I have killed pharaoh!

The entire assassination took

about 2 minutes, resulting in 8 dead and
27 wounded.

Video of the assassination shows a confused and ineffective

security detail which allowed the assassins to complete their effort. In what
appeared to be a coordinated effort immediately following the assassination, rebel
elements took control of the town of Asyut in Upper Egypt, and held the town
until Egyptian paratroopers arrived several days later and recaptured it.
Two of the attackers were killed during the
assassination and the rest were subsequently arrested.
Islambouli and two others were executed for the role in
the assassination while the rest were imprisoned for
different periods of time (Farrell, 1981). The four key
defendants reflected an alliance of Egypts military,
civilian, and religious life. They referred to themselves as the Commanders of
the Caliph. They testified at trial that Sadats assassination was justified under
Shariah law because he had deviated from Islam (Weaver, 1999).

This

assassination again involved an organized group with committed members, but

not an autonomous cell, dedicated to a radicalized philosophy (a politico-religious
belief system) that had developed intelligence on their target and implemented a
simple, but effective attack plan.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY AND SIRHAN SIRHAN

There is probably no other assassination in history that

has more information available than the assassination of
Robert Kennedy with the possible exception of the
assassination of his brother, President John F. Kennedy
(Bugliosi, 2007). Both attacks were broadcast live on
television (although Roberts murder was only captured
on audio), but in the case of Robert Kennedy, the attack
took place in very close proximity to witnesses and the
assassin was captured immediately and survives to the current day. However, consistent
with our modern society, conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination abound.
The facts are these: on evening of June 4th, 1968, Presidential Candidate Robert
Kennedy gave a victory speech to supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles,
California after winning the California Democratic Primary. At approximately 12:15
a.m. on June 5th, Kennedy had completed his speech and had left the podium to depart the
venue. He walked from the stage area through a kitchen
pantry accompanied by 77 supporters, aids and celebrities.
At this time, Sirhan Sirhan fired 7 8 rounds from a .22
caliber Iver Johnson Cadet revolver. According to the
Los Angeles Medical Examiner, Kennedy was hit three times, twice in the back and once
behind the right ear. Kennedy died of his wounds 25 hours later, the fatal round
penetrating his cerebellum. Sirhan Sirhan was arrested at the scene of the shooting, tried
in Los Angeles and sentenced to death. This sentence was commuted to life in prison
when Californias death penalty was overturned in 1976. He has been in jail for the past

35 years. Subsequent to this assassination, the U.S. Secret Service began providing
protection to Presidential candidates, rather than just Presidential nominees. It is notable
that a Democratic Presidential candidate named Barack Obamabegan receiving Secret
Service protection one and a half years before the Presidential election of 2008.
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was born March 19, 1944 in Jerusalem, Palestine to
Christian (Eastern Orthodox) parents. Sirhan was 12 years old when his family
immigrated to the United States. There was some speculation that Sirhan may have
suffered some physical abuse by his father during those years (Moldea, 1995); there is no
doubt that he was exposed to cumulative trauma before the age of five in his surrounding
neighborhood, and witnessed the killing of his older brother. Sirhans father abandoned
them and returned to the Middle East after only a year in the United States when his boy
was 13. Sirhan was described as a quiet and polite young man while attending John Muir
High School where he studied German and Russian and was a member of the California
Cadets where he received firearms training. Although he attended college in 1963, he
was not a dedicated student and dropped out of school two years later. Sirhan worked
often, but typically at low-wage jobs. He did develop an abiding love for horse racing,
even working at a ranch in Corona, California. He frequently attended race tracks and
gambled on the races. He apparently harbored a desire to become a jockey and given his
small stature, he might have been ideal. However, he had a number of accidents while
learning to ride and eventually abandoned the idea. He was generally impoverished, or
close to it, and owned a 1956 DeSoto as his sole means of transportation.
Sirhan was not a very religious man and changed his doctrines often, ranging
from his own Eastern Orthodox upbringing to the Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, and

he even demonstrated an interest in the occult after the death of his sister from leukemia
when he was 20, which appeared to be a critical turning point in his life.
He kept journals that figured prominently in his trial, in which it
appeared that he felt disenfranchised from what he perceived as
the American Dream.
His identity, however, was fostered as an Arab through
his hatred of the Zionists, whom he equated with Nazis.
Following the Six Day War in 1967, he often stated that he believed the wealthy
American Jews controlled the politicians and media. He wanted to kill Kennedy on the
anniversary of the Arab humiliation as a result of the Six Day War. He did.
Meloy (1992) completed a Rorschach study to suggestively determine Sirhans
mental state throughout the planning, preparation and execution of the assassination.
Although defense psychiatrists at the trial opined that Sirhan was paranoid schizophrenic
and had killed Kennedy in a dissociative state brought on by the lights and mirrors in the
Ambassador Hotel lobby, the prosecution doctors opined that he was a developing
paranoid personality (see Hoffmann and Meloy chapter, this volume). Meloy (1992)
found that the testing indicated Sirhan was a depressed and suicidal individual whose
personality was organized at a borderline level. His Rorschach presented a mixed
characterological picture with hysterical, paranoid, and dependent features. One of the
defense psychiatrists later found his own testimony to be an absurd and preposterous
story, unlikely and incredible (Meloy, 2006, p. 39).
In reviewing Sirhans activities leading up to the assassination, some of the
motivations among assassins and attackers investigated by both Fein and Vossekuil

(1999; to avenge a perceived wrong) and Phillips (2006; resentful) can be identified
as applicable to Sirhan. Based on Sirhans diary, it is likely that he made the decision to
kill Kennedy in early 1968 when he wrote, on January 31st, RFK must die (Kaiser,
1970). This exclamation was in response to Kennedys support for a proposed sale of 50
US made Phantom jet fighters to Israel. When Kennedy announced his
candidacySirhan began practice shooting(Moldea, 1995, p. 322). Psychological
evidence suggests that Sirhan had idealized Kennedy as a father transference figure prior
to this time (Meloy, 1992).
Sirhan denied that he had ever stalked Kennedy before the assassination and
continues to assert that he has no recollection of the assault. There were indications that
there were four probable stalking efforts against Kennedy prior to the June 5th killing:

May 20th, 1968 in Robbies Restaurant in Pomona, California, Sirhan was seen
with an unidentified woman while Kennedy was dining in the restaurant.

May 24th, Sirhan was observed at a Kennedy rally at the Los Angeles Sports
Arena.

June 2nd, Sirhan practiced shooting (after purchasing 2 boxes of .22 caliber
ammunition on June 1st) and later was observed at a Kennedy campaign rally at
the Ambassador Hotel.

June 3rd, Sirhan apparently traveled to San Diego, California to attend a Kennedy
appearance at the El Cortez Hotel. (Meloy, 1992)

One must realize that in any political assassination, it is the tactical application that
provides any level of success to the assassins. Whatever their motivation political,
religious, or purely narcissistic it is the tactics that are employed that will allow

assassins to observe the target, assess the situation, plan the attack, and close on the target
with any hope of success. On the day of the assassination, Sirhan went to a range and
practiced with his revolver. After finishing his practice on the pistol range at about 5:00
p.m., he had a meal at Bobs Big Boy, went to the Ambassador Hotel,1 and had four
alcoholic drinks over several hours. He then asked two people if the Kennedy
bodyguards were with him all the time and if he would be coming through the kitchen
pantry. Just before he shot Kennedy, he was heard to say, Kennedy, you son of a bitch
(Clarke, 1982; Kaiser, 1970).2

DISCUSSION
It has often been asserted that assassins are loners who operate on their own
without direct affiliation to any particular group. Historically, this has been the case in
many assassinations, with the earliest notable exception being the Hashisheen of the
Middle East, the origin of the English word, assassin. In many cases, some type of
mental health issue may also be involved to varying degrees. Like the Hashisheen of old
and many present-day extremist groups, certain types of personsranging from habitual
criminals to clinically depressed social outcasts--are sought for recruitment for the
express purpose of violence. There is no profile of the terrorist as assassin, just as there
is no profile of an individual who will stalk, threaten, or attack a public figure (Fein &
Vossekuil, 1999), yet general themes do emerge.
1

The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles has since been destroyed, but did serve as the location for the
filming of Bobby, an ode to Robert Kennedy by Emilio Estevez, just before it was leveled.
2
The Sirhan assassination is closely paralleled by the assassination of Itzhak Rabin , the Prime Minister of
Israel, on Nov. 4, 1995. Rabin was killed by 25 year old Jewish law student Yigal Amir who fired two
shots from close range as Rabin entered his car following a public gathering. Amir felt betrayed because
Rabin was giving land to the Palestinians. Although he stated that he acted alone, others were arrested and
implicated in the assassination, including the leader of the extreme right wing Eyal (Jewish Militant
Organization).

The Hashisheen, as al Qaeda and other extremist Islamic groups do today, tried to
find, recruit and train for martyrdom relatively young, disaffected, disenfranchised and
easily manipulated people for the purposes of violence.3 Mid-level cell leaders, however,
are usually drawn from more educated and affluent backgrounds (Meloy, 2004). Eric
Rudolph and Paul Hill, both lone terrorists who targeted public venues and a public
figure respectively (Puckett, 2001), had conversions that were preceded by socialdevelopmental periods in which they became increasingly adrift from their historical
family and community roots, often behaviorally evident in increased social isolation and
intolerance of beliefs different from their own. Both Rudolph and Hills philosophical
trajectories were increasingly vigilant and paranoid, but their belief content differed.
Eric Rudolph spent six months with his mother and brother4 in Schell City,
Missouri, being schooled in the teachings of the Church of Israel: an anti-Semitic and
white supremacist organization. He had always wanted to become a paratrooper, but in
the US Army he tested positive for marijuana, and was court-martialed, punished, and
discharged from the service. In his late twenties, he withdrew into the woods in rural
North Carolina, and in July, 1996 he detonated his first of four bombs at the summer
Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.5 His letters sent to authorities attributed the acts to The

The muscle recruited for the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington were typically young,
unemployed males from southwestern Saudi Arabia who could obtain valid passports and had no official
criminal records. These men were a striking contrast to the professional, well educated, middle-class
backgrounds of the pilots, particularly Atta, al-Shehi, and Jarrah. Atta had a masters degree from
Hamburg, al-Shehi had been a soldier in the UAE military, and Jarrah had been a Lebanese playboy.
4
The familial devotion among the Rudolph family was extraordinarily evident when his brother, who was
never implicated in Erics crimes, videotaped the severing of his hand with an electric table saw and sent
the tape to the FBI to underscore his commitment to Eric and his beliefs.
5
Richard Jewell, a private security guard who was investigated as a potential suspect by the FBI, was
actually a hero who moved crowds away from the suspicious backpack just before it exploded. He died in
August, 2007, at the age of 44.

Army of God. He was on the lam for nearly seven years before his capture on May 31,
2003 and eventual federal prosecution for the bombings and deaths of three individuals.
Paul Hill converted to Christianity at age 18, fathered three children, and pastored
two Presbyterian congregations in South Carolina until his extreme fundamentalism and
intolerance of others perspectives alienated his parishioners. He was excommunicated in
1991, began an auto-detailing business in Pensacola, Florida, and allied himself with
another anti-abortionist, Rev. Michael Bray, who had served time for fire-bombing an
abortion clinic. He began to isolate in his attic, writing sermons and speeches to further
his religious extremism. In March, 1993, he appeared on the Phil Donahue Show after
another man named Michael Griffin killed an abortion doctor, David Gunn, in Pensacola,
and vehemently justified his actions. Other national media appearances followed--of
course--and in May, 1994, he decided to kill a doctor himself: My eyes were opened to
the enormous impact another such shooting in Pensacola would haveHaving spoken
the truth I needed to exemplify itGod had opened a window of opportunity before me,
it appeared I had been appointed to step through it (Puckitt, 2001, p. 37). Eight days
later he shotgunned to death Dr. John Britton and his escort, and wounded his wife. He
concealed the shotgun in a tube normally used for anti-abortion posters and hid it in the
grass. Right after his arrest, he yelled, Now is the time to defend the unborn! (Puckitt,
2001, p. 37). Hill was tried, sentenced to death, and executed in Florida in 2003. His last
words were, May God help you protect the unborn as you would want to be protected
(www.armyofgod.com/philllinks.html).
Assassins who target a public figure to advance a political or religious agenda are
terrorists, whether attached to an organized group with a command and control hierarchy,

an autonomous cell, or acting alone. If there is active recruitment, the tactical element
commands all of the subsequent activities leading up to the assassination. This is one
area that is often overlooked until after the assassination has taken place. It has been a
confusing area for law enforcement and a source of distress for intelligence agencies
since the former are, by design, reactive in nature. The overt act often initiates law
enforcement activity, although in retrospect, agencies often minimize their knowledge of
the threat, or exaggerate their response to the threat, both attempts to revise history in the
face of an utter failure: there is no more potent example than the positioning of various
principals to justify their inaction, or inflate their action, through numerous books and
interviews following the 9/11 attacks. Notably, agencies like the United States Secret
Service and the U.S. Capitol Police have a much more proactive approach to the potential
of direct attack against public figures. Unfortunately, traditional law enforcement has
been slower to develop more pronounced proactive aspects.
One city-based exception is the extraordinary work of the New York Police
Department in counterterrorism, most recently underscored by their publication of an
analysis of the functional pathway of autonomous cells committed to a Jihadi-Salafi
ideology of violence toward the unbelievers to advance the establishment of a Caliphate.
The NYPD has identified four stages that appear to shed light on the development of such
autonomous cells and, in some cases, their eventual terrorist acts. The four stages include
1) pre-radicalization; 2) self-identification; 3) indoctrination; and 4) jihadization (NYPD,
2007). Their work complements other functional-behavioral pathway analyses such as
those developed by Calhoun & Weston (2003) and Borum et al. (1999). In their detailed
report they empirically support their theory with a close look at both domestic and

foreign acts of terrorism that have been interdicted (e.g., Lackawana, New York; New
York City-Herald Square Subway) or completed (2004 attack in Madrid; 2005 attack in
London).
Most germaine to our chapter is the finding that a few autonomous cells have
specifically targeted a public figure for assassination, and we believe this pattern is likely
to continue.6 The Toronto 18 case which was thwarted in Canada in June, 2006, was
intending to behead the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an aspect of their plot
suggested by a young Canadian male named Steven Chand who was raised a Hindu, had
served in the Canadian military, and converted to Islam (NYPD, 2007).
Another case involving a homegrown, autonomous cell which targeted a public
figure was the Hofstad Group in Amsterdam. Composed of young Dutch Muslims from
North Africa, the group considered targeting members of the Parliament as well as the
national airport and a nuclear reactor. For unknown reasons, a group member named
Mohammed Bouyeri, the son of Moroccan immigrants who was born and raised in West
Amsterdam, decided to kill Theo Van Gogh by himself, a provocative Dutch filmmaker
who was railing against fundamentalist Islamists, and did so on November 2, 2004.
Bouyeri seemed to have been radicalized during seven months in prison for assault, and
subsequently became more conservative and strident in his religious and political views.7
Bouyeri acquired his own gun and began practice shooting in October, and as the
rest of his group planned their more elaborate operations, he road up to Van Gogh on his
bicycle, shot him with his pistol, nearly decapitated him, and plunged a note into his chest
6

We are particularly concerned about well known CEOs in the West who personify much of what the
Islamists hate and are potent symbols of secularism, technology, and free market capitalism (see Hoffmann
and Sheridan chapter, this volume).
7
The spiritual sanctioner of the Hofstad Group was Ridwan Al-Issar who likely fled to Syria the day Van
Gogh was killed (NYPD, 2007).

with the knife. He intended to die in a confrontation with police, but much to his dismay,
was captured instead (Buruma, 2006). Other members of the Hofstad Group were
arrested, and no subsequent terrorist acts were carried out.
Studies by the US Department of Justice have revealed that terrorist organizations
will surveil a potential target as many as 14 times in a 22-month period.(California
Department of Justice, Protection of Critical Infrastructure Report, 2005). We have given
two examplesCzolgosz and Sirhanof lone assassins who stalked or surveilled their
target prior to their killings, if even for a few days or weeks, the targets behavior
shaping the eventual plan of attack. In some cases, rehearsals may be conducted. In the
build up of US Forces in Saudi Arabia prior to Operation Desert Storm, surveillance by
unidentified individuals against a high-ranking US military officer was detected by the
protection detail. Intelligence assets were brought in to investigate and conduct a
surveillance detection operation. The operatives were in position and observed an actual
rehearsal vehicles casually and discreetly blocked the targets car in front and rear, and
down the street other bandits were positioned to block an intersection to aid the
getaway. Bandit observers with communications equipment were also spotted on
nearby roof-tops. This rehearsal was quick and discrete, but because of the presence of
intelligence agents, people and vehicles were identified and the information passed along
to host nation police agencies that effected arrests of the soon-to-be-attackers, thereby
disrupting the attack and avoiding any injuries.
Other lone attackers have demonstrated tactical planning in
their efforts. Charles Guiteau who assassinated President
James A.Garfield in 1881, and Arthur Bremer who attempted

to assassinate George Wallace in 1972but had preferred Richard Nixon as a target--are

two additional examples. Guiteau wrote the following letter in the morning hours before
his assassination: I have just shot the President. I shot him several times, as I wished
him to go as easily as possible. His death was a political necessity. I am a lawyer,
theologian, and politician. I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. I was with General Grant
and the rest of our men, in New York during the canvass. I am going to the jail. Please
order out your troops, and take possession of the jail at once (Rosenberg, 1968, p. 5).
In summary, we emphasize the following findings and opinions from our review
of the data on public figure assassins as terrorists, and our illustration of these events with
two examples of command and control organizations that led to public figure
assassination, two examples of lone terrorists who also assassinated, and several
contemporary case vignettes of homegrown autonomous cells who targeted public
figures as part of their terrorist plans.
First, among the many motivations for public figure stalking and attacking, one is
to intentionally kill a public figure to advance a particular political, religious, or social
belief.
Second, such events are often quite rational and tactically effective within the
context of the belief system, but fall short of the grandiose fantasy of the attacker(s) to
strategically alter history, impose an absolutist belief system, or change the course of
world events.
Third, the public attacker as terrorist is either actively embedded in an
organization which helps carry out the killinga hierarchical organization exercising
some command and control or an autonomous cell--or is an isolate or loner who has

adopted a conscious belief system which justifies his actions. Paradoxically, he may be
viewed with suspicion or ostrasized by his adopted ideological peers due to his
behavioral oddities or extremism.
Fourth, public figure attacks as terrorist acts are invariably predatoryplanned,
purposeful, and emotionlessrather than affectiveemotional, reactive, and impulsive
(Meloy, 2006). They typically involve days, weeks, or months of research, planning, and
preparation.
Fifth, the presence of diagnosable psychiatric disorder(s) in the attacker or
assassin does not necessarily mitigate the influence of his political or religious belief
system as conscious motivation for the crime. In fact, delusion may bring a resolve to the
ideology that would not exist otherwise8.
And sixth, regardless of group association and specific motivation, the focus of
intelligence and law enforcement efforts must be to gain knowledge of the research,
preparation, and planning on the pathway to violence (Calhoun & Weston, 2003)
before there is a breach and attack. This necessitates a vast formal and informal
intelligence network and raises important balancing issues concerning the assumed
privacy of citizens who live in a free and open democratic societyfundamental social
structures that the terrorist often hopes to alter and law enforcement is committed to
protect.

Theodore Kaczynski was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic by a Federal Bureau of Prisons

psychiatrist, but appeared to be motivated as a serial bomber because of his hatred of technological society
and philosophy similar to the Luddites, a social movement in the early 19th century of British textile
workers who protested the Industrial Revolution.

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