ExtremismThe Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States

White supremacists and other far-right extremists accounted for two-thirds of domestic terrorist attacks and plots so far in 2020, but those by antifascist and other leftist groups are rising, according to a new report on U.S. political violence.

The Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has just released a report — The War Comes Home: The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States— which found that domestic terrorism only accounted for five deaths between January and August. But it cites a worrisome trend in which armed far-right and far-left extremists are confronting one another on the streets of U.S. cities against the backdrop of racial justice protests, anti-lockdown demonstrations, and other social and political issues.

“We are moving up the escalation ladder,” Seth Jones, one of the report’s authors told the Wall Street Journal.

The paper documents 61 incidents of domestic terrorist acts or plots between 1 January and 31 August: 67 percent were committed by far-right groups, 20 percent by far-left groups, and the remainder by Islamic extremists and adherents of loose-knit movements such as the Boogaloo.

The CSIS report does not define Boogaloo Bois as a far-right group, but rather as an anarchist, antigovernment extremist group. Boogaloo Bois, however, does share with far-right extremists and white supremacists the belief in “accelerationism,” that is, a belief that acts of violence would accelerate the inevitable uprising of people against an oppressive government (the far-right extremists and white supremacist believe the accelerationism would hasten the arrival of a Charles Manson-like Helter Skelter war among the races, from which the oppressed white majority will emerge victorious).

The share of domestic terrorist attacks by antifascist, anarchist and other far-left groups rose significantly from 2019, when they accounted for 8 percent of domestic terrorism.

Here is the CSIS report’s introduction:

The Issue
White supremacists and other like-minded extremists conducted two-thirds of the terrorist plots and attacks in the United States in 2020, according to new CSIS data. Anarchists, anti-fascists, and other like-minded extremists orchestrated 20 percent of the plots and attacks, though the number of incidents grew from previous years as these extremists targeted law enforcement, military, and government facilities and personnel. Despite these findings, however, the number of fatalities from domestic terrorism is relatively low compared to previous years.