"No matter how hard ideologues try to exclusively blame their political foes for acts of political violence, the truth is that violent extremists today emerge from across the political spectrum. We have studied this problem and believe that our data can help illuminate an issue too often defined by partisan finger-pointing. As part of a study to be published this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies,"
"We found that left-wing terrorism has increased since President Donald Trump's rise to political prominence in 2016. Indeed, 2025 marks the first time in more than 30 years that left-wing attacks outnumber those from the far right. Despite its recent increase, however, left-wing terrorism is not nearly as common today as it was in the 1960s and early '70s. Those years marked the height of groups such as the Weather Underground and the Symbionese Liberation Army, best known for kidnapping the newspaper heiress Patty Hearst."
Data from 750 attacks and plots in the United States between January 1, 1994, and July 4, 2025, were compiled and analyzed. Incidents of terrorism were defined as attacks or plots by nonstate actors seeking political ends and psychological influence over a broad population. The data set records weapon types, intended targets, fatalities, and perpetrator ideology. Left-wing terrorism has increased since 2016, and 2025 is the first year in over 30 years when left-wing attacks outnumbered far-right attacks. Left-wing terrorism remains far less common than during the 1960s and early 1970s, when groups like the Weather Underground and the Symbionese Liberation Army were active. In the 1980s and 1990s, left-wing violence declined while jihadist and right-wing violence rose, especially anti-government and white-supremacist attacks.
Read at The Atlantic
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