I did a Google search for: Right-wing/Left-wing Violence in the US 2000-2025. Results are given below. If any incidents are missing, please let me know.
TL;DR scorecard:
-- Deaths attributed to Left-wing violence: 2 (or 3 if you count Kirk)
(left-wing violence is primarily against property)
-- Deaths attributed to Right-wing violence: 65
## right-wing violence
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Numerous documented instances of right-wing violence and terrorism occurred in the U.S. between 2000 and 2025. Data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and other research centers show a significant increase in such incidents, particularly since the mid-2000s.
Major attacks include:
• 2009 Fort Hood shooting:
U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and injured more than 30 at Fort Hood, Texas. While the motive is complex and rooted in Islamist extremism, Hasan reportedly had contact with far-right individuals prior to the attack, and some sources initially focused on potential links to radical right-wing ideology.
• 2012 Sikh temple shooting:
White supremacist Wade Michael Page killed six people at a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, before dying by suicide. Page was a member of the white power music scene and had ties to neo-Nazi groups.
• 2015 Charleston church shooting:
White supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine Black parishioners during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
• 2017 Charlottesville car attack:
During the "Unite the Right" white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring dozens. He was later convicted of first-degree murder.
• 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting:
Robert Gregory Bowers, who was motivated by antisemitic beliefs, killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 2019 El Paso Walmart shooting:
A gunman with anti-immigrant and white supremacist motives killed 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
• 2021 U.S. Capitol attack:
Supporters of President Donald Trump, including members of far-right extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results. The attack resulted in multiple deaths and injuries and caused significant property damage.
• 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting:
An 18-year-old white supremacist targeted and killed 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. In his manifesto, the shooter expressed support for the "great replacement theory," a white nationalist conspiracy theory.
• 2023 Jacksonville Dollar General shooting:
A white gunman, motivated by racial hatred, killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, before dying by suicide.
• Arson at the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence:
On Sunday, April 13, 2025, part of the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence was set on fire in an alleged political assassination attempt while Governor Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside. The suspect, 38-year-old Cody Allen Balmer (born March 23, 1987), a former mechanic from nearby Penbrook, Pennsylvania, was later arrested and charged with terrorism, attempted murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault after he turned himself in to the police. Balmer struggled with mental illness throughout his life and was hospitalized twice. In a warrant to search Balmer's possessions issued after the incident, state police stated in their search warrant that Balmer had targeted Shapiro based on "perceived injustices toward the people of Palestine". In a 911 call previously made by Balmer, he characterized Shapiro as a "monster" who should stop having his friends killed, put his people "through too much" and said that he would not take part in Shapiro's "plans" for Palestinians.
• Assassination of Melissa and Mark Hortman; Shooting of Yvette and John Hoffman:
On June 14, 2025, Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman was assassinated in a shooting at her home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, United States. Hortman, the leader of the state House Democratic caucus, was killed alongside her husband, Mark. Earlier that morning, state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot in their home in nearby Champlin and hospitalized. The authorities identified 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter as a suspect and captured him on the evening of June 15 in Green Isle, Minnesota. Boelter preached more than once in a church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking against abortion rights and transgender people. Matthew Taylor, a senior Christian scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, said, "Boelter's views now appear to align with the political 'far right' of Christianity in the United States."
• Other significant incidents and trends
Beyond these high-profile attacks, analysis by organizations like the ADL and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) indicates a broader pattern of right-wing extremist violence, including:
-- Increased targeting of government institutions: Attacks and plots against government targets have risen, particularly since 2016.
-- Growing threat from white supremacists: The ADL reported that white supremacists were responsible for nearly half of all right-wing terror incidents between 2017 and 2022.
-- Threats against specific groups: Racially motivated attacks against minority groups and antisemitic violence remain a significant driver of far-right extremism.
-- Rise of online radicalization: Many perpetrators have been radicalized online, often promoting conspiracy theories like the "great replacement theory".
-- Recent attacks in 2025: Reports from September 2025 mention multiple instances of political violence, including arson at a governor's residence, attacks on government buildings, and other acts attributed to various forms of right-wing extremism.
## left-wing violence
======================
In the period from 2000 to 2025, left-wing violence in the US primarily involved property damage by environmental and animal rights extremists, along with politically charged assaults and sporadic, decentralized clashes.
Analysis from research centers indicates that incidents of lethal violence from left-wing extremism were extremely rare, unlike the higher number of fatalities linked to right-wing extremism.
Environmental and animal rights extremism (early 2000s)
• Property damage: The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) were active in the early 2000s, targeting businesses and facilities perceived as harming animals or the environment.
• Criminal acts: Between 1996 and 2002, the FBI linked ALF and ELF to over 600 criminal acts, causing tens of millions of dollars in damages.
Limited lethal violence: These attacks were almost exclusively focused on property destruction, with authorities considering them the primary domestic terrorism threat in the early 2000s.
Clashes during protests (2016 to 2020)
• Seattle May Day 2016: Anarchist groups and other demonstrators clashed with police, resulting in multiple injuries and arrests.
• Charlottesville 2017: Far-left counter-protesters clashed with far-right demonstrators at the "Unite the Right" rally.
• George Floyd protests 2020: While the majority of the summer 2020 protests were peaceful, some demonstrations devolved into violence. Incidents included:
-- Clashes with police.
-- The burning and looting of businesses, including the burning of the Minneapolis Third Police Precinct.
-- Property damage and vandalism in multiple cities.
-- Reports of gunfire in several locations.
Ideologically motivated plots and assaults
• Assault on Richard Spencer (2017): During President Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington, D.C., a masked protester punched white supremacist Richard Spencer.
• Killing of Aaron Danielson (2020): Michael Reinoehl, a self-identified anti-fascist, shot and killed Aaron "Jay" Danielson, a supporter of a right-wing group, during a protest in Portland, Oregon.
• Attacks by Jane's Revenge (2022): In response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the autonomous network Jane's Revenge claimed responsibility for vandalism and attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and anti-abortion clinics.
• Targeting of a Las Vegas journalist (2022): A local Democratic official, Robert Telles, was accused of stabbing and killing a journalist who had written critical stories about him. Reuters identified this as the only fatal incident in their reporting since the January 6 Capitol riot that was perpetrated by a suspect clearly aligned with the political left.
• Atlanta Public Safety Training Center protests (2023): Left-wing activists protesting the development of a police training facility attacked law enforcement with rocks, bricks, and Molotov cocktails. Several were arrested on domestic terrorism charges.
Responding to far-right violence
-- "John Brown Gun Club": Some armed left-wing groups, such as the John Brown Gun Club, have formed to confront the far right directly.
-- Debate on tactics: A debate exists within leftist circles regarding the effectiveness of political violence, with some arguing it is a necessary response to fascism, while others worry that it undermines civil liberties.
