This is why I send a hundred bucks to the Internet Archive every year: Among other things, they archive content from the internet that organizations and institutions — including the U.S. government — don't want you to see anymore. In some instances, it’s because the information is outdated. In other instances, it’s because the information threatens to expose misinformation or disinformation … errors and lies.
A case in point: Last Friday, the sitting U.S. government took down a 2024 report on the evidence-based studies showing that, since 1990, the vast majority of U.S. domestic terrorist violence was committed by far-right extremists.
/ Militant, nationalistic, white supremacist violent extremism has increased in the United States. In fact, the number of far-right attacks continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism. Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives. In this same period, far-left extremists committed 42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives. A recent threat assessment by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security concluded that domestic violent extremists are an acute threat and highlighted a probability that COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors, long-standing ideological grievances related to immigration, and narratives surrounding electoral fraud will continue to serve as a justification for violent actions /
— This excepted text from the 13-page document *should be* — and until last Friday, *was* — at https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/306123.pdf . At this writing, it is available here, on the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20250911165140/https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/306123.pdf
The report archived there*also* makes clear that the big picture on domestic violent extremism is more complicated than those facts alone.
There's a saying from the mid-20th century — attributed to the great Texan, Carlisle Marney — that’s a riff on a saying from the 1st century — attributed to Jesus of Nazareth:
/ You will know the truth, and the truth will make you flinch, before it sets you free /
Everything of everything about this moment in the administration of Donald J. Trump screams “flinch!”
We have friends everywhere. Swallowing fear, and supporting the right people, in the right places, doing the next-right-thing … and then the next … has a fighting chance of setting us free to return to the work of forming a more perfect union …. which is what we always said we wanted, yeh?
Sources
1. Celinet Duran, “Far-Left Versus Far-Right Fatal Violence: An Empirical Assessment of the Prevalence of Ideologically Motivated Homicides in the United States,” Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society 22 no. 2 (2021): 33-49, https://ccjls.scholasticahq.com/article/26973-far-left-versus-far-right-fatal-violence-an- empirical-assessment-of-the-prevalence-of-ideologically- motivated-homicides-in-the-united-states; Joshua D. Freilich et al.,“Introducing the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB),” Terrorism and Political Violence 26 no. 2 (2014): 372-384, https://doi.org/10.1080/09 546553.2012.713229; and William Parkin, Joshua D. Freilich, and Steven Chermak, “Did Far-Right Extremist Violence Really Spike in 2017?” The Conversation, January 4, 2018, https://theconversation.com/did-far-right-extremist-violence-really-spike-in-2017-89067.
2. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Threat Assessment: October 2020, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2020, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/2020_10_06_ homeland-threat-assessment.pdf, 4
3. Allison G. Smith, How Radicalization to Terrorism Occurs in the United States: What Research Sponsored by the National Institute of Justice Tells Us, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, June 2018, NCJ 250171, https://www.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/ xyckuh241/files/media/document/250171.pdf; and Michael Wolfowicz, Badi Hasisi, and David Weisburd, “What Are the Effects of Different Elements of Media on Radicalization Outcomes? A Systematic Review,” Campbell Systematic Reviews 18 no. 2 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1244.
4. Aisha Javed Qureshi, “Understanding Domestic Radicalization and Terrorism: A National Issue Within a Global Context,” NIJ Journal 282, August 2020, https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/ understanding-domestic-radicalization-and-terrorism.
5. National Institute of Justice funding award description, “A Pathway Approach to the Study of Bias Crime Offenders,” at the University of Maryland, College Park, award number 2017-VF-GX-0003, https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/ awards/2017-vf-gx-0003.
6. The PIRUS and BIAS datasets are based on the same data collection methodologies and share similar goals. Both contain random samples of individuals who committed crimes in the United States that were motivated by their extremist ideologies or hate beliefs. The PIRUS dataset includes 2,225 individuals from 1948 to 2018, and BIAS is based on 966 cases from 1990 to 2018. Both datasets are collected entirely from public sources, including court records, online and print news, and public social media accounts. Both seek to capture individuals who promoted a range of extremist ideologies and hate beliefs. PIRUS, for instance, includes those whose crimes were associated with anti-government, white supremacist, environmental, anarchist, jihadist, and conspiracy theory movements. Similarly, BIAS includes individuals who selected victims based on their race, ethnicity, and nationality; sexual orientation and gender identity; religious affiliation; age; or disability.
7. Michael Jensen and Gary LaFree, “Final Report: Empirical Assessment of Domestic Radicalization (EADR),” Final report to the National Institute of Justice, award number 2012-ZA-BX-0005, December 2016, NCJ 250481, https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/final-report- empirical-assessment-domestic-radicalization-eadr; Final report to the National Institute of Justice, award number 2017-VF-GX-0003, February 2021, NCJ 300114, https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/ pathway-approach-study-bias-crime-offenders.
8. Michael Jensen, Elizabeth Yates, and Sheehan Kane, “Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS),” Research Brief, College Park, MD: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism [START], May 2020, https://www.start.umd.edu/ pubs/START_PIRUS_ResearchBrief_May2020.pdf.
9. Michael Jensen, Elizabeth Yates, and Sheehan Kane, “Characteristics and Targets of Mass Casualty Hate Crime Offenders,” College Park, MD: START, 2020, https://www. start.umd.edu/publication/characteristics-and-targets- mass-casualty-hate-crime-offenders.
10. John Horgan, “From Profiles to Pathways and Roots to Routes: Perspectives From Psychology on Radicalization Into Terrorism,” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 618 no. 1 (2008): 80-94, https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716208317539.
11. Gary LaFree, “Correlates of Violent Political Extremism in the United States,” Criminology 56 no. 2 (2018): 233-268, https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12169; Michael A. Jensen, Anita Atwell Seate, and Patrick A. James, “Radicalization to Violence: A Pathway Approach To Studying Extremism,” Terrorism and Political Violence 32 no. 5 (2020): 1067-1090, https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2018.1442330; and Michael A. Jensen et al., “The Link Between Prior Criminal Record and Violent Political Extremism in the United States,” in Understanding Recruitment to Organized Crime and Terrorism, ed. David Weisburd et al. (New York: Springer, 2020), 121-146, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36639-1_6.
12. Michael Jensen, Elizabeth Yates, and Sheehan Kane, “Violent Hate Crime Offenders,” College Park, MD: START, 2020, https://www.start.umd.edu/publication/ violent-hate-crime-offenders.
13. Michael Jensen, Elizabeth Yates, and Sheehan Kane, Radicalization in the Ranks, College Park, MD: START, January 2022, https://start.umd.edu/ publication/radicalization-ranks. In this project, extremists with military backgrounds consisted of active and nonactive personnel from all military branches and reserves, aside from the Space Force and Coast Guard Reserves. Individuals who were honorably discharged, dishonorably discharged, or otherwise violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice were excluded from the study. Also excluded were those discharged through court martial unless information about their criminal proceedings was publicly available.
14. Allison G. Smith, Risk Factors and Indicators Associated With Radicalization to Terrorism in the United States: What Research Sponsored by the National Institute of Justice Tells Us, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, June 2018, NCJ 251789, https://www. ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/251789.pdf.
15. National Institute of Justice funding award description,“Exploring the Social Networks of Homegrown Violent Extremist (HVE) Military Veterans,” at the University of Southern California, award number 2019-ZA-CX-0002, https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/awards/2019-za-cx-0002.
16. Hazel R. Atuel and Carl A. Castro, “Exploring Homegrown Violent Extremism Among Military Veterans and Civilians, The Military Psychologist 36 no. 3 (2021): 10-14, https://www.militarypsych.org/wp-content/uploads/TMP_vol-363_Fall_2021-1.pdf.
17. National Institute of Justice funding award description, “Sequencing Terrorists? Precursor Behaviors: A CrimeSpecific Analysis,” at the University of Arkansas, award number 2013-ZA-BX-0001, https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/awards/2013-za-bx-0001.
18. National Institute of Justice funding award description, “Pre-Incident Indicators of Terrorist Incidents,” at the Board of Trustees, University of Arkansas, award number 2003-DT-CX-0003, https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/awards/2003-dt-cx-0003.
19. Brent L. Smith et al., “The Longevity of American Terrorists: Factors Affecting Sustainability,” Final Summary Overview, award number 2015-ZA-BX-0001, January 2021, NCJ 256035, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/256035.pdf.
20. Thomas J. Holt, Steve Chermak, and Joshua D. Freilich, “An Assessment of Extremist Groups Use of WebForums, Social Media, and Technology To Enculturate and Radicalize Individuals to Violence,” Final Summary Overview, award number 2014-ZA-BX-0004, January 2021,NCJ 256038, https://www.ojp.gov/library/publications/assessment-extremist-groups-use-web-forums-social-media-and-technology.
21. Thomas J. Holt and Adam M. Bossler, “Issues in the Prevention of Cybercrime,” in Cybercrime in Progress: Theory and Prevention of Technology-Enabled Offenses (New York: Routledge, 2016), 136-168.
22. Ryan Scrivens et al., “Triggered by Defeat or Victory? Assessing the Impact of Presidential Election Results on Extreme Right-Wing Mobilization Online,” Deviant Behavior 42 no. 5 (2021): 630-645, https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2020.1807298.
23. Matthew DeMichele, Peter Simi, and Kathleen Blee, “Research and Evaluation on Domestic Radicalization to Violent Extremism: Research To Support Exit USA,” Final report to the National Institute of Justice, award number 2014-ZA-BX-0005, January 2021, NCJ 256037, https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/256037.pdf.
24. The project included three human rights groups (Anti-Defamation League, Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Southern Poverty Law Center) and Life After Hate, an organization that assists white supremacists in exiting the movement. The project partners helped develop a semi-structured interview protocol and provided contact information for initial interviewees. The study used a snowballing technique from these initial interviewees to identify former white supremacists who were in the public sphere to determine if they were interested in being interviewed. The interviews were conducted in places where the individuals would be comfortable, including hotel rooms, homes, places of work, coffee shops, restaurants, and parks. The interviews were in-depth accounts (lasting 6-8 hours each) of individuals’ backgrounds (for example, how they grew up), entry into white supremacy (for example, how they learned about the movement), mobilization (for example, rank and use of violence), and exit process (for example, initial doubts and barriers to exit). The completion of the project was a collaboration with equal contributions from Kathleen Blee, Matthew DeMichele, and Pete Simi and support from Mehr Latif and Steven Windisch.
25. Steven Windisch et al., “Understanding the Micro-Situational Dynamics of White Supremacist Violence in the United States,” Perspectives on Terrorism 12 no. 6 (2018): 23-37, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26544641.
26. Kathleen M. Blee et al., “How Racial Violence Is Provoked and Channeled,” Socio 9 (2017): 257-276, https://doi.org/10.4000/socio.3054.
27. Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius, “Possible Selves,” American Psychologist 41 no. 9 (1986): 954-969, https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954.
