As the district attorney considers possible domestic terrorism charges against the Buffalo suspect, a Washington Post investigation last year found that domestic terrorism incidents nationwide have soared in recent years, driven chiefly by white-supremacist, anti-Muslim and anti-government extremists on the far right.
The surge reflects a growing threat from homegrown terrorism not seen in a quarter-century, with right-wing extremist attacks and plots greatly eclipsing those from the far left and causing more deaths, the analysis showed. The number of domestic terrorism incidents in the data peaked in 2020, according to The Post’s analysis of data compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
From 2015 to February of 2021, right-wing extremists have been involved in 267 plots or attacks and 91 fatalities, the data shows. At the same time, attacks and plots ascribed to far-left views accounted for 66 incidents leading to 19 deaths.
In New York state, 23 domestic terror attacks occurred during that time, The Post’s analysis found. In the case of the Buffalo suspect, who police believe wrote a document laying out his white-supremacist motivations and ideology, a New York law that covers “domestic acts of terrorism motivated by race” carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Nationally, more than a quarter of right-wing incidents and just under half of the deaths in those incidents were caused by people who showed support for white supremacy or claimed to belong to groups espousing that ideology, the analysis shows. Victims of all incidents in recent years represent a broad cross-section of American society, including Blacks, Jews, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, Asians and other people of color who have been attacked by right-wing extremists wielding vehicles, guns, knives and fists.
“What is most concerning is that the number of domestic terror plots and attacks are at the highest they have been in decades,” said Seth Jones, director of the database project at CSIS, a nonpartisan Washington-based nonprofit that specializes in national security issues. “It’s so important for Americans to understand the gravity of the threat before it gets worse.”
Click to read more about The Post’s investigation into extremist attacks.
