Critics say researchers at government and taxpayer-funded private think tanks have exaggerated the threat of “far-right extremists” while failing to acknowledge growing threats of left-wing violence. They point to two assassination attempts against former lawmakers. President Trump To demonstrate the threat posed by some leftists.
“I think it goes without saying that violence of any kind is unacceptable,” Jack Smith, a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “It should not be tolerated in our country. And while I appreciate that some on the left have paid lip service to this ideal, they have not followed through with their actions. They have not followed through in terms of the resources and the willingness to confront left-wing extremists, as we’ve seen.”
regarding threats against Donald Trump “We’ve seen a condemnation of violence by the left, and that’s a good thing and appropriate,” Smith and his colleagues said.
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Trump survived a second assassination attempt, this one in Florida. (Photo Illustration) (Getty)
“And yet we still hear people on the left saying things like, ‘Donald Trump is a threat to democracy,’ this kind of vitriolic rhetoric,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, I think it was predictable that this would lead to these kinds of actions against Donald Trump and potentially his supporters, which I think is very sad. And so, if people on the left want to focus on something, I think toning down the rhetoric would be a good start.”
While government organizations have classified right-wing extremism as a major threat to the political landscape, the second alleged Trump gunman who fired an assault rifle through a chain-link fence 500 yards from where Trump was golfing on Sunday — identified as Ryan Routh — has supported Democrat candidates and has repeated anti-Trump rhetoric on his social media accounts, saying “democracy is on the ballot” and “We can’t lose.”
“Look at what’s happening with antifa in a number of cities like Portland and Seattle, the incidents of violence on left-wing campuses, the intimidation of Jewish students, which is intolerable, which you would expect would be strongly condemned,” Smith said. “And so there’s definitely this double standard that’s coming up a lot these days.”
The Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have published reports condemning right-wing violence and citing a rise in right-wing violence. Right-wing attacks in the last few years.
The NIJ reported this year that since 1990, far-right extremists have committed more ideologically motivated killings than far-left or radical Islamist groups.
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Law enforcement officers in Florida handcuff the suspect in the failed Trump assassination attempt. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
“A recent threat assessment U.S. Department of Homeland Security The report said it concluded that domestic violent extremists pose a serious threat and highlighted the likelihood that stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, long-standing ideological grievances related to immigration, and narratives about electoral fraud will continue to justify violent actions.
“I’m surprised that he made that claim,” Hans A. von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital.
“It was radical left-wing movements led by BLM and Antifa that were involved in arson, riots, violence in cities across America,” he said. “I don’t think any right-wing group across the country has burned cities as they are doing, as they are talking about out there.”
“What we should be fearful of today is the extreme left-wing violence we have seen in cities across the country over the last few years, and now the two assassination attempts on the leading candidate of one of the two major political parties running for president,” von Spakovsky said.
According to the 2023 ADL report, right-wing extremist terrorist incidents in the US have increased dramatically in recent years, rising from seven incidents in 2005-2007 to 40 in 2020-2022. According to CharityWatch.orgADL receives a significant portion of its “cash revenue”, approximately 24%, from “government sources”.
“As a nonpartisan organization that fights anti-Semitism, extremism and all forms of hate, ADL tracks extremism from the left to the right,” an ADL spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Our vast resources and background provide information on individuals, groups and movements across a range of ideologies.”
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Sketch shows Ryan Routh in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Routh, a suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Trump, faces charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. (Lothar Speer)
For its part, CSIS reported in 2020“Based on the CSIS data set of terrorist incidents, the greatest threat is probably from white supremacists, although anarchists and religious extremists inspired by the Islamic State and al Qaeda could also pose a potential threat.”
In an email, a senior CSIS spokesperson said the organization has “compiled a data set of all terrorist attacks and plots” in the U.S. since 1994.
Although it is a private non-profit organization, most of its funding comes from donations and private sources. Its website, C.S.I.S. It receives funding from “U.S. government entities” as well as “international allied and partner governments”.
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Between 2010 and 2021, the Department of Homeland Security also reported 231 domestic terrorism incidents, 35% of which were racially or ethnically motivated, making them the deadliest, according to the report. GAO.
According to the GAO, “anti-government or anti-authority motivated violent extremism” was the second most common incident, resulting in 15 deaths.
