Terrorism in the United States


In the United States a common definition of terrorism is the systematic or threatened use of violence in order to create a general climate of fear to intimidate a population or government and thereby effect political, religious, or ideological change. This article serves as a list and compilation of acts of terrorism, attempts of terrorism, and other such items pertaining to terrorist activities within the domestic borders of the United States by non-state actors or spies acting in the interests of or persons acting without approval of state actors.
According to a 2017 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, "of the 85 violent extremist incidents that resulted in death since September 12, 2001, right-wing violent extremist groups were responsible for 62 while radical Islamist violent extremists were responsible for 23. The total number of fatalities is about the same for far right-wing violent extremists and radical Islamist violent extremists over the approximately 15-year period. 52 percent of the deaths attributable to radical Islamist violent extremists occurred in a single event—an attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016."
In 2018, most ideologically motivated murders in the United States of America were linked to right-wing extremism.
According to Slate, with the occurrence of the 2019 El Paso shooting, right-wing terrorism has been responsible for more killings on US soil than Jihadi terrorists after the September 11 attacks.

U.S. totals


YearNumber of
incidents
DeathsInjuries
20176595932
20166468139
2015385458
2014292619
20132023436
20122077
20111002
201017417
2009111841
200818213
2007800
20066114
20052100
2004900
20033300
200233411
2001413,00816,515
20003207
1999532040
19983143
199740218
1996352119
199560178738
1994551016
199336101,005
19923223
19913024
19903257
198942314
19882711
19873411
198649136
198540313
1984633780
19834485
1982781137
198174815
1980671522
1979691858
19788788
1977130417
1976105441
197514924158
1974941654
1973584533
1972681035
19712472055
197046833160
Total2,8723,78121,707

Recent trends

A 2017 report by The Nation Institute and Center for Investigative Reporting looked at the terrorist incidents in the US between 2008 and 2016. It found:
According to a report based on Justice Department figures released by the U.S. government January 2018, about three out of four people convicted on charges of international terrorism between September 11, 2001 to December 31, 2016, were foreign-born. According to the Justice Department, 549 were convicted for international terrorism including 254 who were citizens of another country, 148 were naturalized citizens and 148 were natural-born-citizens. In a speech before a joint session of Congress on February 28, 2017, President Donald Trump incorrectly attributed these findings to domestic terrorism, rather than to cases in which international terrorists may have been brought to the United States for prosecution.
The Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security and the Police Executive Research Forum conducted a 2015 survey of 382 police and sheriff departments nationwide. Nearly 74% of respondents stated that anti-government violence was their top concern regarding threats from violent extremism, while about 39% stated "Al Qaeda-inspired" violence was their top concern.
For the past decade, the national conversation on terrorism has largely focused on Islamic extremist acts, however law enforcement groups have made it clear that Muslim extremists make up a minute percentage of ideologically based terror attacks in the United States. Since 9/11/2001, only about 9 American Muslims per year have taken part in terrorist plots in the United States, in total, 20 incidents resulted in about 50 deaths. A 2012 study showed that in about the same time period right-wing extremists were responsible for about 337 attacks per year, in total, they killed more than 5 times the number of people killed by Muslims in the United States.
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism maintains Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States, a database containing over 1,800 profiles of individuals radicalized by ideologies since 1948. The database shows that from 1948 through 2016, 40.0% of identified extremists were far-right, 24.5% were Islamist and 17.4% were far-left, while 18.2% were "single issue" individuals.
In May 2019, the FBI for the first time identified fringe conspiracy theories as a potential source of domestic terrorism, specifically citing QAnon.
A June 2020 study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that over 25 years of domestic terrorism incidents, the majority of attacks and plots have come from far-right attackers. The trend has accelerated in recent years, with this sector responsible for about 66% of attacks and plots in 2019, and 90% of those in 2020. The next most potentially dangerous group has been “religious extremists”, the majority “Salafi jihadists inspired by the Islamic State and al-Qaida”, while number planned by the far left has reduced to a minute fraction since the mid 2000s.

Attacks by date

1776–99

1800–99

1900–59

1960–69

1970–79

1980–89

1990–99

2000–09

2010–19

Attacks by type

Anti-abortion violence

DateTypeDeadInjuredLocationDetails
1865–77Campaign of violence3,000+ Southern United StatesOver 3,000 Freedmen and their Republican Party allies were killed by a combination of the Ku Klux Klan and well organized campaigns of violence by local whites in a campaign of terrorist violence that overthrew Reconstructionist governments in the south and established segregationist regimes that lasted until the mid-20th century.
October 22, 1868Assassination10 Little Rock, ArkansasJames M. Hinds, Arkansas congressional representative, was assassinated by a member of the Ku Klux Klan in Little Rock
November 10, 1898Riot22+ Wilmington, North CarolinaIn the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, white supremacists overthrew the biracial Republican government of Wilmington, North Carolina, killing at least 22 African Americans, marking the beginning of the Jim Crow era in North Carolina.
1927Campaign of violenceSeveralSeveralThe Ku Klux Klan launched a wave of political terror in Alabama, attempting to undermine African American rights.
December 25, 1951Bombing, assassination20 Mims, FloridaHarry T. Moore state co-coordinator of the Florida NAACP and his wife were killed by dynamite bomb in his Mims, Florida home. Despite extensive FBI investigation no one was arrested but Orlando KKK suspected.
June 12, 1963Shooting, assassination10 Jackson, MississippiNAACP organizer Medgar Evers was killed in front of his Mississippi home by member of the Ku Klux Klan.
September 16, 1963Bombing422 Birmingham, Alabama16th Street Baptist Church bombing: A member of the Ku Klux Klan bombed a Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four girls.
June 21, 1964Kidnapping and murder30 Philadelphia, MississippiThe murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner, three civil rights workers, in Philadelphia, Mississippi by the Ku Klux Klan.
March 25, 1965Shooting10 Selma, AlabamaThe Ku Klux Klan murdered Viola Liuzzo, a Southern-raised white mother of five who was visiting Alabama from her home in Detroit to attend a civil rights march. At the time of her murder, Liuzzo was transporting Civil Rights Marchers.
January 10, 1966Firebombing10 Hattiesburg, MississippiVernon Dahmer died in the firebombing of his own home in Mississippi at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan.
November 3, 1979Shooting55 Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro massacre: Members of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party fired on meeting of members of a Communist group who were trying to organize local African American workers in Greensboro, North Carolina, killing five.
March 20, 1981Lynching10 Mobile, AlabamaMichael Donald was randomly selected to be lynched by two Ku Klux Klan members near his Alabama home. He was beaten, had his throat slit, and was hanged.

Deadliest attacks

The following is a list of the deadliest known single-day terrorist attacks in the United States to date. Only incidents with ten or more deaths are included.
DateFatalitiesInjuriesArticleLocation
1September 11, 20012,996 6,000+September 11 attacksNew York City; Arlington, Virginia; Shanksville, Pennsylvania
2August 21, 1863 204 1Lawrence massacreDouglas County, Kansas
3April 19, 1995168680+Oklahoma City bombingOklahoma City, Oklahoma
4June 1, 1921150–300800+Tulsa race massacreGreenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma
5September 11, 1857 120+17+Mountain Meadows massacreMountain Meadows, Utah Territory
6April 13, 1873108 unknownColfax massacreColfax, Louisiana
7March 8, 1782 962Gnadenhutten massacreGnadenhutten, Ohio
8February 26, 186080+unknownWiyot massacreIndian Island, California
9November 13, 18136429Hillabee massacreHillabee, Alabama
10June 12, 201650 53Orlando nightclub shootingOrlando, Florida
11May 18, 192745 58Bath School disasterBath Township, Michigan
12May 15, 185440unknownAsbill massacreMendocino County, California
13September 16, 192038143Wall Street bombingNew York City
14September 3, 181224unknownPigeon Roost massacrePigeon Roost Village, Northwest Territory
15August 3, 20192323El Paso shootingEl Paso, Texas
16November 10, 189822+unknownWilmington insurrectionWilmington, North Carolina
17October 1, 191021100+Los Angeles Times bombingLos Angeles, California
18February 28, 184720unknownKern and Sutter massacresSutter County, California
19December 2, 201516 24San Bernardino attackSan Bernardino, California
20May 12, 184614+unknownKlamath Lake massacreKlamath County, Oregon
21November 5, 20091333 Fort Hood shootingFort Hood, Texas
22January 2, 179112severalBig Bottom massacrenear Stockport, Ohio
23May 4, 188611130+Haymarket affairChicago, Illinois
23December 29, 19751174LaGuardia Airport bombingNew York City
25July 22, 19161040Preparedness Day BombingSan Francisco, California
25November 24, 1917102Milwaukee Police Department bombingMilwaukee, Wisconsin

Failed attacks