Right-wing extremists have killed 112 people over the decade, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies—and that’s more than the number of deaths committed by left-wing extremists and jihadists combined.
Right-wing extremists carried out 152 terrorist attacks between 2016 and July 4, 2025, according to the CSIS report. That's far more than the 35 attacks from left-wing extremists and 25 attacks from jihadists.
The report comes as President Donald Trump and Republicans have blamed Democrats and the left for the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, and have used Kirk's death as a rationale to go after Democratic groups, politicians, and even comedians who do not support Trump.
"For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now,” Trump said in an address from the Oval Office the day Kirk was killed.
Aside from blaming the left for Kirk’s murder, Republicans have been claiming that Democrats and the left are more violent—even though the data says otherwise.
“The problem is on the left. It's not on the right, like some people like to say," Trump said earlier in September. "When you look at the agitators—you look at the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag burnings all over the place—that's the left. That’s not the right."
In fact, the Trump administration even reportedly removed from the Department of Justice’s website a study that said right-wing extremists committed more violence than other ideological groups.
To be sure, the CSIS report found that left-wing violence is on the rise this year. But it is still outweighed by the number of attacks carried out by right-wing extremists in recent history.
People place lit candles below a photo of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at a vigil on Sept. 11 in Orem, Utah.
The Trump administration misleadingly pointed to the CSIS report to justify their efforts to go after Democratic groups and progressive benefactors like George Soros.
"Democrats, calling your political opponents Nazis has consequences," White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson wrote in a post on X, linking to an Axios article on the report.
But awkwardly, by posting a chart showing the number of extremists attacks, Jackson instead publicized the fact that right-wing extremists have committed the lion’s share of the recent violent attacks in this country.
Even worse for Trump and Republicans is that the CSIS report suggests that the very kind of rhetoric they have been spreading since Kirk's assassination could lead to more violence down the road.
"Although the vast majority of Americans would never commit partisan violence and oppose it, widespread polarization and misperceptions that the other side is far more violent than it actually is creates a dangerous environment where extremists can more easily rationalize using violence," Daniel Byman and Riley McCabe, the authors of the CSIS study, wrote in their report.
"Growth in even a tiny minority who are willing to commit partisan violence has the potential for tremendous consequences considering the combustible political climate in the United States and the fact that symbolic and strategically important political leaders are among the potential targets,” they continued.
Indeed, the FBI recently arrested a man who threatened to shoot up a Pride parade in Texas as a way to avenge Kirk's murder, The Guardian reported over the weekend.
“Fk their parade, I say we lock and load and pay them back for taking out Charlie Kirk,” Joshua Cole, whom the FBI arrested, allegedly wrote in a post on Facebook, according to The Guardian.
“Theres only like 30 of em we can send a clear message to the rest of them," Cole allegedly wrote in another post, allegedly adding, “come on bro let’s go hunting fairies.”
Ultimately, Trump and Republicans’ attempt to blame their opposition party for Kirk’s murder, rather than just the deranged assassin, is dangerous and inflammatory.
“The rise in left-wing attacks merits increased attention, but the fall in right-wing attacks is probably temporary, and it too requires a government response,” the CSIS authors wrote in their report. “In any case, many of the prescriptions for fighting terrorism effectively apply to violence from both the left and right. These include ensuring proper counterterrorism resourcing, avoiding overreactions, and having leadership unequivocally condemn such attacks.”
