Jihadist Beheader In Oklahoma Cleared For Execution
The Alton Nolen case is very much worth
remembering, along with all terror attacks that occur on U.S. soil, not
just for the victims and their survivors but for lessons that must be
learned.
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially cemented the
execution of America’s least known Islamic terrorist. Jihadist convert
Alton Nolen is now set to be put to death in Oklahoma, likely by
nitrogen gas inhalation.
The Supreme Court’s October 1, 2018 rejection of Nolen’s final death penalty appeal went unremarked upon by news media so, partly as a result, I missed it. But the Nolen case is very much worth remembering, along with all terror attacks that occur on U.S. soil, if not just for the victims and their survivors but for lessons that can and must be learned.
The September 24, 2014
attack in Oklahoma is somewhat notable in the annals of many officially
uncalled terrorist strikes in that Nolen emulated a favorite ISIS death
tactic no doubt learned online: he fully beheaded a co-worker—the
beloved wife, mother, and grandmother Colleen Hufford—inside
the Moore, Oklahoma food processing plant where they both worked.
Shouting “Alluah Akbar” throughout the attack, Nolen used the same
oversized butcher knife on the neck of a second co-worker, Tracy
Johnson, when the company’s chief operations officer, a reserve law
enforcement officer named Mark Vaughn, burst in with an AR-15 rifle. He
shot and wounded Nolen as Nolen disengaged from his second victim and
charged at him with the bloody knife.
Such an attack must generate a particular horror in its witnesses and, when Nolen is finally put to death, one should keep in mind what Hufford must have experienced in her last moments.
This attack and its repercussions warrants our full national attention and should be properly memorialized until all related matters are finally resolved, not least for any comfort this can still bring the victim, survivors, and witnesses. Terrorism acknowledgement and media treatment can encourage the nation to comfort those who were there and help them close the emotionally important loop of knowing why loved ones and innocents died, who did it, and for what cause.
Calling terrorism out
for what it is portends practical benefits too. Federal acknowledgement
of Islamic terrorism opens the throttle on investigations that can
identify co-conspirators and foreign connections. Public acknowledgement
and remembrance can spur suspicious activity reporting from the general
public, which can roll up other cocked and loaded extremists before
they also kill.
Also importantly, federalizing the identification of terrorism cases helps homeland security authorities look inward to determine if intelligence failures occurred. Homeland security professionals learn from those what not to repeat and how to fix broken processes, to reduce the chances of future law enforcement intelligence failures.
The Obama administration decided not to call this a terror attack or count it as one soon afterward, even though Nolen, a prison convert to Islam, had filled his Facebook page with hideous ISIS propaganda and openly praised the death cult’s rise to global prominence through constant blood-letting. Nolen had just been suspended after co-workers rejected his Islamist proselytizing and demands for religious accommodations at Vaughan Foods. This gave those already predisposed to downplay Islamic terror attacks the excuse needed to suggest workplace violence and mental illness was somehow at play, instead of the prima facie terror attack it was.
On September 29, after
hearing the evidence a jury rejected defense arguments that Nolen was
insane. Right after the attack, for instance, police asked a very calm
and collected Nolen if anyone had told him to behead unbelievers. He
responded that the Qur’an gave him the idea. (Qur’an 47:4 states that
“When you meet the unbelievers, strike their necks.) Nolen answered:
“Uh, no. I read the Qur’an. Like I say, the Qur’an is easy to
understand. No one guides me but Allah.”
When asked why he beheaded Hufford, he answered: “I just feel like…I did what I needed to do.
What Allah says in the Qur’an to do. Oppressors don’t need to be here. You know the Muslim is somebody who submits their will to Allah…Whatever he wants done, that’s what we do…And you know he wants us to get the oppressors out of this place.”
When asked if he regretted murdering Hufford, Nolen answered: “There wasn’t nothing but a trial for me. I passed it because, like I said, I felt oppressed. I knew for sure that, if I was to die right then, I was going to heaven.” He added: “I feel, you know, you know what I’m saying, if I was to die in five or 10 minutes, I’m going to heaven. That’s all that matters to me.”
Nolen also confirmed that he had screamed “Allahu akbar” as he beheaded Hufford.
Johnson testified that
she ran into the next room after hearing screaming and saw Nolan
standing over Hufford with a bloody knife. “When I saw the defendant, I
was frozen. I couldn’t move. And I saw the knife with the blood on the
knife, and he made a mad dash toward me and pushed me up against the
wall and held me up with his forearm against the wall and just started
slicing my neck. He was just going back and forth like he was just
cutting a piece of meat.”
The hero of this tragedy is Vaughan, then COO of Vaughan Foods and an Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy. When the call came that a knife attack was underway, Vaughan suited up with his weapon, ammo, and first aid on a vest. Vaughan testified that he and another employee entered the building where the attack was underway and saw Nolen on top of Johnson. He testified that he called for Nolen to stop. Nolen jumped up, ran around a corner and charged Vaughan at full speed. Vaughan said he fired three rounds.
Nolen leaned against a wall and fell to the ground. Vaughan then held Nolen at bay until police arrived and took the suspect away.
When this is all sorted out, politically and legally, Nolen’s turn will come and bring the state’s only possible final resolution to this terrorism episode so we can all properly move on. When that resolution is at hand, I hope somehow the world finds out about it.
The Supreme Court’s October 1, 2018 rejection of Nolen’s final death penalty appeal went unremarked upon by news media so, partly as a result, I missed it. But the Nolen case is very much worth remembering, along with all terror attacks that occur on U.S. soil, if not just for the victims and their survivors but for lessons that can and must be learned.
Such an attack must generate a particular horror in its witnesses and, when Nolen is finally put to death, one should keep in mind what Hufford must have experienced in her last moments.
The Benefits of Calling Terror Attacks ‘Terror Attacks’
Rather than to call this an Islamic terror attack and charge it federally as such, President Obama’s U.S. Department of Justice let the local district attorney charge Nolen under state murder statues (and as an assault and battery against survivor Traci Johnson). The whole disgusting affair was quickly forgotten by the rest of the nation, government, and all but those involved and some locals. But make no mistake: This was a jihadist terror attack on American soil.This attack and its repercussions warrants our full national attention and should be properly memorialized until all related matters are finally resolved, not least for any comfort this can still bring the victim, survivors, and witnesses. Terrorism acknowledgement and media treatment can encourage the nation to comfort those who were there and help them close the emotionally important loop of knowing why loved ones and innocents died, who did it, and for what cause.
Also importantly, federalizing the identification of terrorism cases helps homeland security authorities look inward to determine if intelligence failures occurred. Homeland security professionals learn from those what not to repeat and how to fix broken processes, to reduce the chances of future law enforcement intelligence failures.
The Obama administration decided not to call this a terror attack or count it as one soon afterward, even though Nolen, a prison convert to Islam, had filled his Facebook page with hideous ISIS propaganda and openly praised the death cult’s rise to global prominence through constant blood-letting. Nolen had just been suspended after co-workers rejected his Islamist proselytizing and demands for religious accommodations at Vaughan Foods. This gave those already predisposed to downplay Islamic terror attacks the excuse needed to suggest workplace violence and mental illness was somehow at play, instead of the prima facie terror attack it was.
Proof of Terrorism Overflowed at Trial
The 2017 trial, which received only some highly localized Oklahoma TV news coverage, decisively showed this was neither mental illness nor workplace violence. Taped police interviews of Nolen and other evidence showed Nolen was motivated by Qur’anic scripture and the very same well-worn extremist ideology we have seen cited for attacks across the globe, to include the 9/11 attacks. Nolen has proven unrepentant.When asked why he beheaded Hufford, he answered: “I just feel like…I did what I needed to do.
What Allah says in the Qur’an to do. Oppressors don’t need to be here. You know the Muslim is somebody who submits their will to Allah…Whatever he wants done, that’s what we do…And you know he wants us to get the oppressors out of this place.”
When asked if he regretted murdering Hufford, Nolen answered: “There wasn’t nothing but a trial for me. I passed it because, like I said, I felt oppressed. I knew for sure that, if I was to die right then, I was going to heaven.” He added: “I feel, you know, you know what I’m saying, if I was to die in five or 10 minutes, I’m going to heaven. That’s all that matters to me.”
Nolen also confirmed that he had screamed “Allahu akbar” as he beheaded Hufford.
The hero of this tragedy is Vaughan, then COO of Vaughan Foods and an Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy. When the call came that a knife attack was underway, Vaughan suited up with his weapon, ammo, and first aid on a vest. Vaughan testified that he and another employee entered the building where the attack was underway and saw Nolen on top of Johnson. He testified that he called for Nolen to stop. Nolen jumped up, ran around a corner and charged Vaughan at full speed. Vaughan said he fired three rounds.
Nolen leaned against a wall and fell to the ground. Vaughan then held Nolen at bay until police arrived and took the suspect away.
Deserves National Acknowledgement and Coverage
Although Nolen’s execution warrants national notice, no solid date was readily available. Oklahoma has been caught up in political wrangling with death penalty opponents and thus shut down the state’s supply of lethal injection drugs. Most of the state’s executions are awaiting a resolution over state plans to start using nitrogen gas. Earlier this year, the state announced it was working to develop a new execution protocol making nitrogen hypoxia the preferred method.When this is all sorted out, politically and legally, Nolen’s turn will come and bring the state’s only possible final resolution to this terrorism episode so we can all properly move on. When that resolution is at hand, I hope somehow the world finds out about it.
Todd Bensman is a Texas-based senior
national security fellow for the Center for Immigration Studies. For
nearly a decade, Bensman led counterterrorism-related intelligence
efforts for the Texas Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division. Follow
him on Twitter @BensmanTodd. Bensman also worked for The Dallas Morning
News, CBS, and Hearst Newspapers. He reported extensively on national
security and border issues after 9/11 and worked from more than 25
countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
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