Critics say researchers at government and taxpayer-backed private think tanks exaggerate the threat of “far-right extremism” while failing to recognize the growing threat of left-wing violence, pointing to the two assassination attempts on former President Trump as examples of the danger posed by segments of the left.
“It goes without saying that violence of any kind is unacceptable,” Zach Smith, a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “Violence should not be tolerated in our country, and I appreciate that some on the left are paying lip service to that ideal, but they're not acting. They're not acting in terms of the resources and the willingness to confront the left-wing extremism that we've seen.”
“We've seen the condemnation of violence from the left, and that's good and that's appropriate,” Smith said of threats against Donald Trump and his aides.
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President Trump survives second assassination attempt in Florida. (Photo illustration) (Getty)
“Yet many on the left are saying that kind of heated rhetoric: 'Donald Trump is a threat to democracy,'” Smith said. “Unfortunately, I think it was predictable that it would lead to these actions against Donald Trump and those who support him. I think this is very tragic. So if people on the left want to focus on something, I think a good place to start would be to tone down the rhetoric.”
While government agencies have labeled right-wing extremism a major threat to politics, the second Trump shooter, Ryan Routh, who pointed an assault rifle through a chain-link fence 500 yards from where Trump was golfing on Sunday, supported the Democratic candidate and repeated anti-Trump rhetoric on his social media accounts, including “Democracy is on the ballot” and “We cannot lose.”
“Like you said, look at what Antifa is doing in Portland, Seattle and many other cities, the violence on campuses by leftists, the intolerable threats against Jewish students, I would like to see a much greater condemnation,” Smith said. “Certainly, it seems like these double standards are playing out all too often today.”
The Department of Justice'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 all released reports condemning right-wing violence and noting an increase in right-wing attacks in recent years.
The NIJ reported this year that since 1990, far-right extremists have committed more ideologically motivated murders than far-left or Islamic extremist groups.
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Florida police handcuff a man suspected of attempting to assassinate President Trump. (Martin County Sheriff's Office)
“A recent threat assessment by the Department of Homeland Security concluded that domestic violent extremism poses a serious threat and highlighted the likelihood that stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic, long-standing ideological grievances about immigration, and narratives surrounding election fraud will continue to serve as justifications for violent acts,” the report said.
“I'm just astonished that they would make 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 Black Lives Matter and Antifa that caused arson riots and violence in cities across the United States,” he said. “I can't recall any right-wing groups burning down cities across the country like they're talking about.”
“What we should fear today is the far-left violence we've seen in cities across the country over the past few years, and now the two assassination attempts on the major candidates from both major parties running for president,” von Spakovsky added.
Right-wing extremist terrorist incidents in the United States have increased dramatically in recent years, from seven incidents between 2005-2007 to 40 incidents between 2020-2022, according to a 2023 ADL report. According to CharityWatch.orgADL derives up to 24% of its “cash income” from “government sources.”
“As a nonpartisan organization that fights anti-Semitism, extremism and all forms of hate, the ADL tracks extremism from the far left to the far right,” an ADL spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Our vast resources and background materials provide information on individuals, groups and movements across the ideological spectrum.”
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The sketch depicts Ryan Routh in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Routh, who is accused of attempting to assassinate former President Trump, is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. (Lothar Speer)
Meanwhile, CSIS reported: 2020“Based on CSIS terrorism incident data, the most significant threat is likely to come from white supremacists, but anarchists and religious extremists inspired by the Islamic State and al-Qaida also pose potential threats.”
A senior CSIS spokesperson said in an email that the organization has “built a dataset on every terrorist attack and plot” that has occurred in the United States since 1994.
The organization is a private non-profit organization whose main sources of funding are donations and private funding. CSIS website It also receives funding from “U.S. government agencies” as well as “international allied and partner governments.”
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The Department of Homeland Security reported 231 domestic terrorism incidents between 2010 and 2021, 35% of which were racially or ethnically motivated, making them the deadliest incidents. GAO.
“Anti-government or anti-authority motivated violent extremism” was the second most common type of attack, resulting in 15 deaths, according to the GAO.
