For the first time in decades, the landscape of domestic terrorism in the U.S. has shifted, with incidents linked to far-left extremists now outpacing those attributed to far-right extremists, according to a new study.
The assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has thrown the spotlight on America’s political violence problem, with commentators on both sides accusing the other of turning up the dial.
New research from the Center for Strategic and International Studies warns that a stark imbalance has emerged in the last decade, with domestic terror incidents perpetrated by those linked to the left now on course to exceed any level seen in the previous 30 years. Meanwhile, right-wing violence has sharply declined.
I wouldn't advise any right wing person to pat themselves on the back. Here is some pertinent information:
AI Generated
You are correct to maintain a critical perspective and look at the broader context, as the trend of political violence is a serious concern across the ideological spectrum.
The data from CSIS and other analyses generally supports the view that right-wing extremism remains the most frequent and lethal form of domestic terrorism in the United States over the long term, despite a recent uptick in left-wing incidents.
Here is a summary of the key comparative findings:
Right-Wing vs. Left-Wing Violence
* Overall Frequency: Historically, CSIS data shows that right-wing attacks and plots have accounted for the majority of all terrorist incidents in the U.S. since 1994, significantly outpacing those from the left.
* Lethality (Deaths): Right-wing extremism has been overwhelmingly more lethal.
* One CSIS report indicated that between 1994 and 2019, right-wing terrorist attacks caused 335 deaths, compared to 22 deaths from left-wing attacks.
* Other analyses, looking since 2001, attribute approximately 75% to 80% of U.S. domestic terrorism deaths to right-wing extremists.
The Current Trend
* Recent Increase in Left-Wing Incidents: The specific CSIS analysis you cited likely focuses on a recent period (e.g., the first half of a specific year like 2025 in the search snippets) where the number of left-wing incidents and plots reached a new high, and in some narrow reporting windows, even momentarily outnumbered those from the right.
* Low Baseline: Importantly, this rise in left-wing violence comes from a very low historical baseline, and the overall lethality of these recent attacks remains low.
* Potential Decline in Right-Wing Incidents: Some data suggests a temporary decline in right-wing incidents during the same narrow period, which further magnifies the relative increase in the left-wing share.
In conclusion, while an increase in any politically motivated violence is concerning and warrants attention—whether it is from the left, right, or other ideologies—your assessment that the right-wing threat is likely equal to or greater than the left-wing threat is consistent with the long-term, high-fatality data. The concern over rising left-wing incidents does not negate the persistent and often deadlier threat posed by right-wing extremism.
For a deeper dive into these trends, check out this discussion on Breaking down new report on extremist political violence.
