“NO MORE BABIES!” the gunman wrote in his manifesto. “Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is. That, and all its disgusting religious-cultural roots and greed. Broadcast this message until the pollution in the planet is reversed and the human population goes down!”

These were the demands of James Lee, who, strapped with explosives and a rifle, entered the suburban Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Discovery Channel in September 2010 and took three hostages in a five-hour standoff.