Right-Wing Terrorism

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

Right-Wing Terrorism

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

⠀

──────────────────

﹝     𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀     ﹞

─────────

                          ⁰ : Table of Contents

                          ¹ : Disclaimer

                          ² : What is Terrorism?

                          ³ : What is Right-Wing Terrorism?

                          ⁴ : The Three Categories

                          ⁵ : Its Naming

                          ⁶ : Prevalence

                          ⁷ : Compared to Islamists

                          ⁸ : Islamophobia

                          ⁹ : Reasons for Sudden Surge

──────────────────

⠀

Disclaimer

─────────

The purpose of this blog is simply to

be informative. Although I naturally have

my own biases, I will do my best to

restrict my opinions to the comments.

Sources of information have been credited,

to the best of my abilities. Some information

is directly quoted from its sources.

⠀

:warning: TRIGGER WARNING :warning:

⠀

The following content contains material

that may be triggering or sensitive

subjects for some readers.

If you are unable and/or uncomfortable

reading about discussions of Terrorism,

Extremism, Right-Wing Extremism,

Islamophobia and/or other similar topics,

reader discretion is advised.

⠀⠀

If you begin reading this blog and start to

feel yourself getting overwhelmed, PLEASE

stop reading. You can always come back

and continue reading at a later date.

Again, PLEASE prioritize your mental and

emotional health and well-being.

⠀

:heartbeat: Resources :heartbeat:

:small_blue_diamond: PTSD Attack : click here

:small_blue_diamond: Anxiety Attack : click here

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

What is Terrorism?

─────────

⠀

The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

defines Terrorism as, “the unlawful use of

force and violence against persons or

property to intimidate or coerce a

government, the civilian population, or

any segment thereof, in furtherance

of political or social objectives.”

⠀

The FBI identifies two classes of Terrorism:

International (or Foreign), and Domestic.

⠀

International

Violent, criminal acts committed by

individuals and/or groups who are inspired by,

or associated with, designated foreign

terrorist organizations or nations

(state-sponsored).

⠀

Domestic

Violent, criminal acts committed by

individuals and/or groups to further

ideological goals stemming from domestic

influences, such as those of a political,

religious, social, racial, or environmental

nature. [0]

⠀

Depending on the country, the political

system, and the time in history, the types

of terrorism are varying.

⠀

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

What is Right-Wing Terrorism?

─────────

⠀

Right-wing terrorism or far-right

terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by

a variety of different right-wing and

far-right ideologies. [1]

⠀

The Center for Strategic and International

Studies, or CSIS, similarity explains that

right-wing terrorism, “refers to the use

or threat of violence by sub-national or

non-state entities whose goals may include

racial or ethnic supremacy; opposition to

government authority; anger at women,

including from the incel (“involuntary

celibate”) movement; and outrage against

certain policies, such as abortion.”

⠀

Some of the most prominent of those

ideologies include... [2]

• Neo-Nazism

• neo-fascism

• ecofascism

• white nationalism

• white separatism

• ethnonationalism

• religious nationalism

• anti-government patriot/sovereign

citizen beliefs

• (occasionally) anti-abortion and tax

resistance

⠀

Although they often take inspiration from

Fascist Italy and Nazi , with

some exceptions, right-wing terrorist groups

frequently lack a rigid ideology. [3]

⠀

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

The Three Categories

─────────

⠀

There are three broad types of right-wing

terrorist individuals and networks in the U.S.:

• white supremacists

• anti-government extremists

• incels

⠀

There are numerous differences between

(and even within) these types, such as

ideology, capabilities, tactics, and level of

threat. Adherents also tend to blend

elements from each category. [4]

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

White Supremacy

White supremacist networks are highly

decentralized.

Most believe that whites have their own

culture, and that it is superior to other

cultures. They also generally believe that

whites are genetically superior to other

peoples, and that they should exert

dominance over others.

Many white supremacists also adhere, in

varying degrees, to the Great Replacement

conspiracy, which claims that whites are

being eradicated by ethnic and racial

minorities—including Jews and immigrants.

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

Anti-Government

These include militias and the sovereign

citizen movement.

Most militia extremists view the U.S.

government as corrupt and a threat to

freedom and rights

Other far-right anti-government groups

mobilized to protect a perceived threat to

individual gun ownership rights.

Modern militias are organized as

paramilitaries that conduct weapons

training and other field exercises.

For example, the Three Percenters are

a far-right paramilitary group that

advocates gun rights and seeks to limit

U.S. government authorities.

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

Incels

Involuntary celibates, or incels, conduct

acts of violence against women.

The incel movement is composed of

a loosely organized virtual community of

young males.

Incels often believe that one’s place in

society is determined by physical

characteristics, and that women are

responsible for this hierarchy.

Notably, many incels identify with the

writings of Elliot Rodger, who published a

133-page manifesto, titled “My Twisted

World.” Elliot Rodger is known for having

killed 6 people and injured 14 others – by

gunshot, stabbing and vehicle ramming –

in Isla Vista, California near the campus

of the University of California, Santa

Barbara, and then killed himself. [4]

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

Its Naming

─────────

⠀

Senior Trump istration officials

declined to use the word "right-wing

extremism,” previously, during talks and

communications.

This created disagreement and

misunderstanding with Europeans, who

frequently use the expression.

The aversion came from political

appointees in the Trump istration.

One national security official said, “We

very quickly realized that if people talked

about right-wing terrorism, it was a

nonstarter with them.

⠀

The U.S. response to the globalization of

the far-right threat has been slow, scattered

and politicized, U.S. and European

counterterrorism veterans and experts say.

Whistleblowers and other critics have even

accused DHS leaders of downplaying the

threat of white supremacy and slashing

a unit dedicated to fighting domestic

extremism, although DHS has denied those

accusations.

However, Federal agencies avoided the

term “right-wing terrorism” because they,

”didn’t want to give extremists legitimacy

by placing them on the political spectrum,

or to fuel the United States’ intense

polarization,” said Christopher Harnisch,

the former deputy coordinator for

countering violent extremism in the State

Department’s counterterrorism bureau.

He continued on, saying that, “Some

causes espoused by white supremacists,

such as using violence to protect the

environment, are not regarded as

traditionally right-wing ideology.”

⠀

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

Prevalence

─────────

⠀

As of 2020, the vast majority of terrorist

attacks and plots in the United States

were carried out by right-wing terrorists.

This has been confirmed by numerous

reports, such as...

⠀

The Anti-Defamation League found that,

between the years of 2010 and 2019,

Right-wing domestic extremists were

responsible for 75% of violent terrorist

incidents in the United States.

The League closely monitors right-wing,

terrorist-related attacks, and also found

that 2019 was the worst year for

right-wing extremist activity since the

1995 Oklahoma City bombing. [5]

⠀

A report issued by the Institute of Economics

and Peace (IEP) stated that...

• Global deaths from terrorism have

fallen but far-right attacks have

increased by 250% globally, to a level

not seen in the last 50 years.

• When it comes to fatalities, the increase

was even more than 700% within five

years, with 89 people killed in 2019. [6]

”As a new decade begins, we see new

terrorist threats. The rise in right-wing

extremism in the West and the deterioration

in the Sahel are prime examples,” said the

Institute’s Executive Director, Steve Killelea. [6]

⠀

When surveyed about terrorist group

presence within their state, law enforcement

angle cues indicated...

• 85% — right-wing extremist group presence

• 82% — race/ethnicity/hate-related groups

(Riley, Treverton, Wilson & Davis, 2005.)

⠀

In addition, a more recent survey of state

police agencies (74% response rate) found

that 92%, 89%, 72% and 70% of

respondents respectively indicated that

neo-Nazis, racist skinheads, the KKK,

and Christian Identity groups were

operating in their jurisdiction.

(Freilich, Chermak & Simone, 2009)

⠀

According to a 2017 Government

ability Office report, 73% of

violent extremist incidents that resulted

in deaths since September 12, 2001 were

caused by right-wing extremist groups. [7]

⠀

As of September 2020, the New America

Foundation placed the number killed in

terrorist attacks in the United States

since 9/11 as follows...

• 14 killed in far-right attacks

• 107 killed in jihadist attacks

• 12 killed in black separatist/nationalist

/supremacist attacks, 9 killed in

"ideological misogyny/incel" attacks

• 1 killed in a far-left attack [8]

⠀

A 2019 report found that 50 people in the

U.S. were killed in murders by domestic extremists (both ideologically and

non-ideologically motivated homicides)

during the previous year.

• 78% were perpetrated by white supremacists

• 16% by anti-government extremists

• 4% by "incel" extremists

• 2% by domestic Islamist extremists [6]

⠀

Over the broader 2009 to 2018 time

period, there were a total of 313 people

in the United States killed by right-wing

extremists, of which...

• 76% were committed by white supremacists

• 19% by anti-government extremists

(including those d with the militia,

"sovereign citizen," tax protester, and

"Patriot" movements)

• 3% by "incel" extremists

• 1% by anti-abortion extremists

• 1% by other right-wing extremists [6]

⠀

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

Compared to Islamists

─────────

⠀

According to analysis of data from the

Global Terrorism Database, of domestic

terrorism events (from 2010 to 2017):

• 35% were right-wing related

• 14% were Islamist extremist-related

• 13% were left-wing related [9]

⠀

Not only that, but a criminologist from

John Jay College stated that right-wing

attacks were statistically more likely to

result in fatalities. [10]

⠀

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

Islamophobia

─────────

⠀

Islamaphobia can be defined as, “an

exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility

toward Islam and Muslims, generally

perpetuated by negative stereotypes,

resulting in bias, discrimination, and the

marginalization and exclusion of Muslims

from social, political, and civic life.”

In a 2011 meeting, the United Nations

Alliance of Civilizations, as well as the

League of Arab States, an important

partner of theirs, identified Islamophobia

as an important area of concern.

⠀

Research shows that the U.S. identified

more than 160 Muslim-American terrorist

suspects and perpetrators in the decade

since 9/11, just a percentage of the

thousands of acts of violence that occur

in the United States each year.

It is from this overall collection of

violence that "an efficient system of

government prosecution and media

coverage brings Muslim-American terrorism

suspects to national attention, creating

the impression - perhaps unintentionally -

that Muslim-American terrorism is more

prevalent than it really is."

⠀

Globally, many Muslims report not feeling

respected by those in the West.

Significant percentages of several Western

countries share this sentiment, saying that

the West does not respect Muslim societies.

• 52% of Americans

• 48% of Canadians

... said that the West does not respect

Muslim societies. [11]

⠀

Data reported from 2008 Research in a

subset of majority-Muslim countries from

within the MENA region, though, discovered

that more than one-half did not agree

that Muslims in the West are treated as

equal citizens.

⠀

One-quarter of that population said that

Muslims in the West receive equal

treatment, while about one-fifth said

they did not know. [11]

⠀

Muslims (48%) are more likely than

Americans of other major religious groups

to say they, personally, have experienced

racial or religious discrimination in the

past year.

Muslim Americans are more than twice

as likely as U.S. Jews, Catholics, and

Protestants to say they experienced such

discrimination in the past year. (2010) [11]

⠀

In addition, 48% of Muslim Americans

said they experienced racial or religious

discrimination.

Self-reported knowledge, whether

accurate or not, about the religion of Islam

seems to affect Americans' feelings of

prejudice toward Muslims. [11]

⠀

Of Americans who say they have no

personal prejudice toward Muslims, 29%

say they have no knowledge at all about Islam.

In fact, those who say they hold no

prejudice toward Muslims are more likely

than those who say they hold a little,

some, or a great deal of prejudice to say

they have no knowledge about Islam. [11]

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

⠀

Reason for Sudden Surge

─────────

⠀

The total number of right-wing attacks

and plots has grown substantially during

the past few years.

⠀

In 2019, for example, right-wing extremists

perpetrated nearly two-thirds of the

terrorist attacks and plots in the United

States, and they committed over 90%

of the attacks and plots between

January 1 and May 8, 2020.

⠀

Also, although religious extremists were

responsible for the most fatalities because

of the 9/11 attacks, right-wing perpetrators

were responsible for more than half of all

annual fatalities in 14 of the 21 years during

which fatal attacks occurred. [12]

⠀

Right-wing attacks and plots were

predominant from 1994 to 1999, and

ed for more than half of all incidents

in 2008 as well as every year since 2011,

with the exception of 2013.

Most right-wing attacks in the 1990s

targeted abortion clinics.

Most right-wing attacks since 2014

focused on individuals (often targeted

because of religion, race, or ethnicity) and

religious institutions.

Facilities and individuals related to the

government and police have also been

consistent right-wing targets throughout

the period, particularly for attacks by

militia and sovereign citizen groups. [12]

⠀

The decrease in right-wing activity in the

early-2000s coincided with an increase

in left-wing activity from 2000 to 2005.

Most of these left-wing attacks targeted

property associated with animal research,

farming, or construction, and were

claimed by the Animal Liberation Front

or the Earth Liberation Front.

⠀

As shown in the Figure above, data on

the number of terrorist attacks and plots by

perpetrator orientation indicate that

right-wing terrorism not only s for

the majority of incidents, but has also

grown in quantity over the past few years.

This increase is reminiscent of the wave

of right-wing activity in the 1990s that

peaked with 43 right-wing incidents in 1995.

⠀

In three recent years—2016, 2017, and

2019—the number of right-wing terrorist

events matched or exceeded the number in

1995, including a recent high of 53

right-wing terrorist incidents in 2017.

Despite a moderate decrease in 2018 to

29 incidents, right-wing activity again

increased in 2019 to 44 incidents.

⠀

Religious attacks and plots have also shown

some increases during this period—notably

in 2015, 2017, and 2019—but at a

significantly smaller magnitude than

right-wing events. [12]

⠀

⠀

──────────────────

──────────────────

:copyright:

─────────

⠀