Portfolio

Publications

Infographics

Press

Research

I conduct independent research on targeted violence, suicide and stalking-related communications to identify patterns that can help law enforcement and threat assessment teams recognize credible threats earlier and respond more effectively. A central goal of my research is to translate academic findings into practical insight, with a focus on improving prevention and intervention practices through language analysis. My research directly informs my consulting, training and presentations.

I have led and collaborated on studies alongside established researchers in threat assessment, terrorism and linguistics across North America and Europe. My findings have been published in peer-reviewed journals and practitioner-focused publications widely used by law enforcement and security professionals, including the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, Perspectives on Terrorism, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, ASIS’ Security Management Magazine, Global Network on Extremism and Technology, among others.

Since October 2022, I serve as a Research Fellow with the The Accelerationism Research Consortium (ARC), a collaborative initiative focused on countering accelerationist terrorism and political violence.

Research Supported by National & International Security Partners

My research has been competitively funded by leading counter-terrorism and counter-extremism organizations focused on threat prevention, including:

• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  Research supported through the International Academic Partnerships for Science and Security (IAPSS), led by the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST) in partnership with DHS’s National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE)

• Global Network on Extremism and Technology
  Research supported by the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET), the academic research arm of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), focused on extremist use of online platforms and emerging threat vectors.

These grants support applied research and reflect operational relevance that informs law enforcement, security practitioners and policy-makers.

Publications

• Current areas of focus

  • Stalking communications and terrorism manifestos

• Forthcoming publications

  • Terrorism and Social Media — Julia Kupper & Reid Meloy

  • The Tree of Life Synagogue Attack — Molly Amman, Julia Kupper & Reid Meloy

2025

Interviewing lone actors: the role of rapport, grievance, and ideology in the interview of the Toronto Van Attacker

Nathan Brooks, Julia Kupper, Rob Thomas, Rebecca Wilcoxson & Christopher Blake — Journal of Threat Assessment and Management

Going dark redux: the 2018 Capital Gazette mass murder

Reid Meloy & Julia Kupper — Journal of Threat Assessment and Management

Pioneering artificial intelligence integration into forensic risk assessment: applying ChatGPT-4o to the Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol–18

Marvin Acklin, Kailey Topping, Julia Kupper & Reid Meloy — Journal of Threat Assessment and Management

2024

Decoding terrorism: an interdisciplinary approach to a lone-actor case

Julia Kupper, Marie Bojsen-Møller, Tanya Karoli Christensen, Dakota Wing, Marcus Papadopulos & Sharon Smith — Cambridge University Press

Terrorgram’s propaganda — an overview of publications designed to incite accelerationist terrorism attacks

Julia Kupper & Miro Dittrich — Accelerationism Research Consortium

How language analysis can enhance threat assessment

Julia Kupper — The Maze: Fixated Risk Management Bulletin 

Practical forensic and tactical linguistics in investigations

Julia Kupper — ASIS International Security Management

Special report: analysis of Ryan Palmeter’s targeted violence manifesto

Julia Kupper — Accelerationism Research Consortium [available upon request for law enforcement and intelligence agencies]

2023

Going dark: the inverse relationship between online and on the ground pre-offense behaviors in targeted attackers

Julia Kupper & Reid Meloy — Global Network on Extremism & Technology

The Hanau terror attack: unraveling the dynamics of mental disorder and extremist beliefs

Julia Kupper, Patricia Cotti & Reid Meloy — Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 

Terrorgram's first saint: analyzing accelerationist terrorism in Bratislava

Julia Kupper, Kacper Rekawek & Matthew Kriner — Accelerationism Research Consortium

The Reichsbürger coup: how the German COVID-19 denier scene and anti-lockdown movement became a breeding ground for terrorism

Julia Kupper & Miro Dittrich — Global Network on Extremism and Technology

Linguistics and threat assessment: how the analysis of language can assist in preventing workplace and campus violence

Julia Kupper & Stephen White — Work Trauma Services Inc.

2022

The contagion and copycat effect in transnational far-right terrorism: an analysis of language evidence

Julia Kupper, Tanya Karoli Christensen, Dakota Wing, Marlon Hurt, Matthew Schumacher & Reid Meloy — Perspectives on Terrorism

Preventing attacks using targeted violence manifestos

• Julia Kupper — FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin

The venomous rhetorical web of far-right terrorists

• Julia Kupper — Global Network on Extremism and Technology

2021

TRAP-18 indicators validated through the forensic linguistic analysis of targeted violence manifestos

• Julia Kupper & Reid Meloy — Journal of Threat Assessment and Management

Words of suicide: identifying suicidal risk in written communications

• Amendra Shrestha, Nazar Akrami, Lisa Kaati, Julia Kupper & Matt Schumacher — IEEE Xplore

Linguistic comparison: manifestos of extremists (2020)

This infographic highlights shared themes of five right-wing manifestos written by violent extremists. Thematic similarities and differences are presented in a tabular view. All findings are derived from the content of the manifestos.

Linguistic comparison: suicide notes vs. manifestos (2019)

This infographic discusses linguistic similarities and differences of suicide notes and manifestos. It highlights common and contrasting themes, as well as distinctive features in production and distribution, illustrated by real-life examples.