• Turns Out Neither. New Research Finds Mayors on Both Sides Mixed in Implementing Effective Policies.

    Many Republican political candidates and leaders accused their Democratic counterparts of being soft on crime during the run-up to the 2024 elections. Concerns over the safety of the nation’s cities has been a longstanding —and potent —political issue. But how much influence do elected officials actually have over crime rates?

  • Why Do Illegal Immigrants Have a Low Crime Rate? 12 Possible Explanations

    The evidence is overwhelming that immigrants in the United States have had a lower crime rate than native-born Americans since at least the 19th century. When people learn that fact, they aren’t surprised that legal immigrants have a lower crime rate than native-born Americans, but they are surprised that it’s also true for illegal immigrants.

  • Diseased Illegal Immigrants Aren’t “Invading” the United States

    My research at the Cato Institute on crime and terrorism committed by illegal immigrants conclusively shows that they commit less crime than native-born Americans and have murdered zero people in domestic attacks since 1975. We also fond no statistically significant relationship between the size of the immigrant population, the illegal immigrant population, or the legal immigrant population and the spread of serious communicable diseases.

  • How Ruhr University is Combatting Right-Wing Extremist Activities

    “The constitutional principles of freedom of opinion, which we seek to protect and defend, don’t allow people to be sanctioned because of their presumed beliefs. This also applies to neo-Nazis. However, we do not stand idly by”: Ruhr University Bochum’s vice rector.

  • Madison and Nashville School Shooters Appear to Have Crossed Paths in Online Extremist Communities

    A month after a student opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, another killed a classmate at Antioch High School. Both were active in an internet subculture that glorifies mass shooters and encourages young people to commit attacks.

  • Antioch, Tenn., Shooter Inspired by Broad Extremist Beliefs and Previous Mass Killers

    On January 22, 2025, a 17-year-old student opened fire inside the cafeteria at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. The shooter subscribed to broad accelerationist beliefs, which hold that society is irrevocably broken and must be destroyed to be rebuilt.

  • Bystander Reporting Helps Prevent Mass Violence

    Bystander reporting’s role in mitigating mass violence deserves much more attention –because peers, bystanders, and “bystanders of bystanders” often know a lot about a person’s concerning behavior, and because they often choose not to report because they perceive authority figures are not receptive or are unlikely to be helpful.

  • Southport Attack: Changing the Definition of Terrorism Won’t Stop the Violence

    Axel Rudakubana, who killed of three young girls in Southport in a stabbing attack in 2024, had been referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism program three times, but failed to meet the threshold for intervention. Some want to change terror laws to deal with lone, violent killers. But as a researcher of counter-terrorism laws, I argue there is little point to widening what is already a broad definition of terrorism.

  • House Democrat Pushes Bill Requiring Liability Policy to Buy or Possess Firearms

    Under a bill proposed Monday, the legislative majority is pushing to require proof of “financial responsibility” before purchasing or possessing a firearm by requiring certain liability policies.

  • Proud Boys: A Big Tent for Hate

    Some of those pardoned by President Trump are leaders and members of the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group with a history of using violence, targeted harassment, and intimidation to achieve their political goals and combat perceived enemies – Jews, Muslims, gays, progressives, and feminists.

  • Acoustic Sensors Find Frequent Gunfire on School Walking Routes

    A new study used acoustic sensors that detect the sound of gunfire to show how often children in one Chicago neighborhood are exposed to gunshots while walking to and from school. The study documents toll on kids in the community.

  • FBI, DHS Warn of Likely Terrorist Attacks

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security are warning that a copycat terrorist attack could occur similar to the New Year’s Day New Orleans attack.

  • What We Learned from Analyzing 10 Years of Shooting Data

    A Trace series challenges what many people might think about gun violence in America. Here is one of the highlights: You’re more likely to be shot in the rural South than in big cities like Chicago.

  • How Many People Were Killed by the Pandemic Surge in Shootings?

    In a new analysis, The Trace figured out the number of people who might have lived if gun violence had remained at its 2019 level.

  • The Militia and the Mole

    A wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover, climbing the ranks of right-wing militias. He didn’t tell police or the FBI. He didn’t tell his family or friends. He penetrated a new generation of militia leaders, which included doctors and government attorneys. Experts say that militias could have a renaissance under Donald Trump. He sent ProPublica a massive trove of documents. The conversations that he secretly recorded give a unique, startling window into the militia movement.