Albany
Law
student
Dawson
Maloney
is
dead,
following
an
apparent
terror
attack
on
a
substation
in
the
Hoover
Dam
power
generation
system.
Maloney,
a
2L,
rented
a
car
in
New
York,
embarking
on
Valentine’s
Day
for
a
cross-country
trip
to
Boulder
City,
Nevada.
Armed
with
“two
shotguns,
an
assault
rifle-style
pistol,
and
flame
throwers,”
Maloney
rammed
the
rented
Nissan
Sentra
through
the
gate
of
a
power
substation
owned
by
the
Los
Angeles
Department
of
Water
and
Power.
The
substation
was
not
damaged
in
the
attack.
Because
it
was
a
Nissan
Sentra.
Maloney
had
sent
recent
messages
to
his
family
about
plans
to
do
something
that
would
make
the
news
and
at
one
point
referring
to
himself
as
a
terrorist.
Albany
Law
School
released
a
statement
saying
they
were
“heartbroken
to
hear
of
the
tragic
passing
of
one
of
our
law
students,
Dawson
Maloney,
in
an
off-campus
incident.”
Hoover
Dam
and
its
affiliated
infrastructure
have
drawn
attacks
in
the
past.
Nazis
tried
to
destroy
the
dam’s
intake
towers
in
1939.
In
2020,
a
guy
used
a
rifle
and
an
armored
truck
to
block
the
bridge
over
the
dam
to
show
his
support
for
QAnon.
Maloney’s
motive
is
less
clear
as
he
seems
to
have
read
an
eclectic
selection
of
ideologies.
A
hotel
room
search
uncovered
explosive
materials
—
suggesting
Maloney
harbored
plans
for
more
attacks
—
and
a
“smorgasbord
of
radical
literature.”
According
to
Las
Vegas
Metropolitan
Police
Department
Sheriff
Kevin
McMahill,
the
works
spanned
right-wing
extremism,
left-wing
extremism,
environmental
extremism,
white
supremacy,
and
anti-government
ideologies.
Though,
in
fairness,
to
the
police,
those
could
just
be
his
law
school
textbooks.
It
is
a
reminder
to
keep
vigilant
about
radicalization
these
days.
There’s
a
glut
of
misinformation
and
propaganda
out
there
—
some
of
it
being
pushed
by
the
people
who
own
social
media
platforms
—
and
it’s
easy
for
folks
to
lose
a
sense
of
grounding,
even
if
they
have
the
advantages
that
come
with
being
in
law
school.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.