US Justice Department Removes Report Finding Far-Right Extremists Commit ‘Much More’ Violence
The US DOJ has removed a analysis from its official online portal that determined right-wing extremists have murdered many more US citizens than all other domestic terrorist organizations. The removal came just days after a shooter killed well-known conservative activist a Trump ally.
Research Removed During Controversy
This research, titled “Key Findings on Domestic Terrorism”, vanished from the Department of Justice website in recent days. Per experts monitoring the page, the study was accessible until September 12.
The research began with significant statistics: “From 1990 onward, right-wing extremists have carried out significantly more ideologically motivated killings than left-wing or religious extremist groups. These include over 200 incidents that took hundreds of victims. Meanwhile, left-wing extremists carried out 42 attacks causing fewer lives lost.”
Legal Action Taken in Kirk Murder
The suspect, 22 years old, is accused with the murder of the TPUSA founder. Legal authorities are requesting the death penalty. Following the shooting, Donald Trump and other right-wing voices blamed “radical left” for the violence.
Study Findings Support Independent Studies
The National Institute of Justice report, which was based on 30 years of evidence, represented one of the most comprehensive federal assessments of domestic terrorism. The report showed that “armed, nationalistic, white supremacist terrorism has increased in the United States” and that “the number of far-right incidents continues to outpace all other forms of political violence”.
The conclusions are consistent with non-governmental studies, including a paper from the CSIS that examined 893 terrorist plots between the past few decades. The analysis found that “Conservative extremist acts of violence account for the bulk of all extremist acts in the United States over the past 30 years.”
Specialist Comments Back the Evidence
In hearings from 2023, experts such as a leading extremism researcher told lawmakers that “research on acts of ideologically motivated attacks demonstrates that it is the conservative radicals that is driving domestic threats in the US”.
“It would be incorrect to claim there is no violence from far-left actors,” she continued, “however not as widespread or lethal as what is originating with far-right actors.”
Group Background
The activist had grown his organization into a major right-leaning activist network. Kirk spoke at last year’s party gathering and was engaging with students at the time of the attack.
DOJ has not responded to inquiries about the deletion of the report.
