House Republican urges DOJ to treat Oklahoma beheading case as terrorist attack

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on Tuesday called on Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the beheading in Oklahoma as a case of terrorism instead of workplace violence.

Alton Nolen was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and assault after allegedly beheading a co-worker at a Vaughan Foods processing plant last week.

{mosads}However, Nolen had reportedly shown signs of radicalization, such as having images of Osama bin Laden on his Facebook page.

Wolf, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Justice Department, warned that deciding not to investigate there was a connection between last week’s attack and Nolen’s religious views could compromise discoveries of national security threats.

“In the wake of the department’s failure to ‘connect the dots’ between Anwar Aulaqi and Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan, it is more important than ever for you to make clear to the department’s agents and attorneys that this is, in fact, terrorism and to determine whether this or other plots are part of an effort by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or al Qaeda to radicalize Americans and direct attacks in the U.S.,” Wolf wrote in a letter to Holder.

The Virginia Republican noted that beheadings are becoming a trademark of Islamic extremists, indicating that Nolen’s case should be seen as a warning.

“His attack is the latest incident in a string of horrific beheading attacks, which are an emerging hallmark of radical Islamist terrorism, whether in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Middle East, Europe, and now, here in the United States,” Wolf said.