Summary
A report suggests that left-wing terrorism in the U.S. is increasing, but the data on this topic is complicated and debated. President Trump and others have pointed to recent acts of violence, while federal data historically shows right-wing terrorism as the more persistent threat.
Key Facts
- President Trump spoke about left-wing violence following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
- The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) report suggests that far-left terrorism incidents outnumbered far-right ones in early 2025.
- No clear evidence links Kirk's alleged killer to leftist groups.
- Federal law enforcement generally considers right-wing extremism as the main domestic terrorist threat in past years.
- The report's conclusions are debated and raise questions about how to collect and analyze terrorism data.
- The report used data from various sources due to the lack of a single comprehensive domestic terrorism database in the U.S.
- Researchers face challenges in categorizing incidents due to data ambiguities.
