In the first half of this year, the U.S. saw a sharp decline in violent attacks seen as originating from right-wing ideology and a small increase in political violence labeled as coming from the left, according to a new study. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan think tank, released a new analysis focused on tracking terrorism and political violence.
CSIS says the terms “left-wing” and “right-wing” refer to violent fringe movements — not to Democrats, Republicans, liberals or conservatives in general. The report defines left-wing terrorism as violence motivated by causes like environmentalism, anti-fascism, or anti-capitalism, and right-wing terrorism as driven by white supremacy, anti-government views, anti-abortion extremism or the QAnon movement.
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The data covers events up to July 4, 2025, and shows that, for the first time in 30 years, more violent attacks in the country were committed by left-wing extremists than by right-wing extremists.
High-profile assassination draws national attention
Earlier this month, Charlie Kirk, a high-profile conservative advocate and debater, was assassinated at a speaking event at Utah Valley University. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said the preliminary investigation found the alleged suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, expressed to his family that he did not like Kirk’s views and that he believed Kirk was “full of hate and spreading hate.” Robinson’s mother told prosecutors that her son had been radicalized by left-wing ideologies over the last year.
Kirk’s death has intensified ongoing debates about political violence and extremism across the country.
Trump issues order, links attacks to leftist movements
On Monday, after Kirk’s memorial service, President Trump signed an executive order designating “Antifa,” which is a decentralized, leftist movement, as a “domestic terrorist organization.” However, Antifa is not a structured group but rather a label for “antifascist” activists who partake in demonstrations that sometimes turn violent.
Then, on Wednesday, a fatal shooting at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility spurred Trump and Vice President JD Vance to link the violence to the left.
Historical data reveals shifting threat landscape
According to CSIS findings, left-wing terror incidents were very rare in the 1990s, rose slightly in the 2000s, and have increased more significantly since 2016, averaging four per year from 2016 to 2024. Right-wing terror attacks averaged 20 per year from 2011 to 2024. The organization recorded only one right-wing attack in the first half of 2025 — the killing of Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband. Vance Boelter, 57, has been formally charged with six federal crimes related to the Hortman murders.
The report states the best way to combat political violence and extremism is for U.S. leaders to reject violence from their own side.
“Although leaders are not responsible for extremists in their midst, they are responsible for how they behave toward extremists,” the researchers state in the report. “U.S. political leaders and activists need to lead by condemning violence on their side and calling for calm when it involves violence on the other side.”
