Recent Trends in Domestic Extremism

Among the greatest challenges facing law enforcement in the United States is the threat posed by far-right domestic extremism, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

While several intelligence agencies have documented traces of domestic extremism in both left-wing and right-wing groups, the latter are far more likely to commit acts of terrorism and engage in dispersed violence. Between 2011 and 2021, right-wing extremists were responsible for 75 percent of the 443 people killed at the hands of extremists. In comparison, domestic Islamist extremism was responsible for 20 percent of deaths, left-wing extremists were responsible for four percent, while an undefined other were listed as responsible for one percent. 

Far right movements in this country are numerous, many of which are associated with violence, and some of them even engage in violent acts of terror. Incel or manosphere extremists, QAnon adherents, and anti-government the boogaloo boys, are among the newest right-wing movements to emerge in recent years have all established violent records. In particular, anti-government groups and explicitly white nationalist groups that oppose multi-racial society and seek to establish an all-white state make up the two main branches of right-wing domestic extremism in the United States. These two branches of right-wing extremism share a desire to overthrow the U.S. state and impose authoritarian values and practices.

With the evolution of extremism in recent years, Angelic Young, ADL’s Director of Professional Development on Law Enforcement Programs, discussed the threat of extremism and how law enforcement can work to combat it at the Women in Federal Law Enforcement’s (WIFLE) 22nd annual Leadership Training Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Young explained that this form of terrorism is a crime committed for ideological reasons, thus it’s important for law enforcement to understand the size of the problem and why this issue is critical for federal agents and officers to address.

White supremacist movements have operated in the United States since the founding of the first KKK at the close of the Civil War. The movement has evolved from an earlier emphasis on anti-Black racism to include antisemitism, anti-Islamic racism, anti-Black racism, and anti-immigrant sentiments. 

The ideologies of some far-right extremist movements are accompanied by other types of deadly violence, including attacks on perceived enemies and others who may get in their way. It is not uncommon for extremists to engage in violence that does not directly attack an enemy but is in the interest of their group or movement. 

The importance of this point for law enforcement cannot be overstated, as it is not uncommon for extremists to kill rival members or suspected informants within their own ranks, while carrying out “traditional” crimes as well. Particularly, according to Young, when an agency or department is allocating resources.

Young recalled the evolution of Nathan Allen, a 28-year-old man from the Boston, into extremism. On the outside, Allen was a licensed physical therapist and married his long-time fiancée in 2020. However, beneath the surface, he began acquiring what law enforcement later called “volumes” of white supremacist literature. Allen composed a hateful diatribe, “The Allen Diaries,” referencing the infamous white supremacy book The Turner Diaries, in June 2021 that promoted white supremacy and attacked Black and Jewish people. In excerpts released later by law enforcement, Allen discussed white supremacy at great length in his journal as well as statements about whites “waking up” and expressed a wish to convert his wife to white supremacy.

Within two days of penning “The Allen Diaries,” Allen left his apartment armed with two pistols and stole a plumbing company’s truck. The particular plans Allen had for the truck are unclear (although authorities speculate synagogues are nearby), since he crashed into a house while driving it. When Allen emerged from the wreckage, his original plans, whatever they were, were in disarray.

He unsuccessfully attempted to carjack a nearby vehicle and subsequently ran down the street of the crash; Allen passed several white individuals, but when he eventually happened across a Black woman, 60-year-old Ramona Cooper, he shot her three times. After hearing the shots, David Green, 68, a retired state trooper and a black man, responded. As Green pulled his neighbor from harm’s way, Allen shot him seven times. 

Both Cooper and Green, military veterans, died as a result of Allen’s attack.

If it wasn’t for Sergeant Nick Bettano of the Winthrop Police Department, who was dispatched to the location after the car crash, Allen might have killed many more people. As he arrived at the scene 150 feet away, Bettano learned about the active shooter situation and helped two bystanders get behind cover. As Bettano ordered Allen to drop his weapon, the suspect attempted to approach him. Ultimately, Bettano fired on Allen when he was 20 feet away, ending the attack.

While Bettano managed to survive the ordeal, the same cannot be said for 29 law enforcement officers killed by domestic extremists over the past decade—15 of which stemmed from right-wing extremists.

It is also worth noting that the number of law enforcement fatalities does not include the death of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. When a right-wing group stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and Officer Sicknick was among the responders.

On January 7th, some hours after he had been attacked, Officer Sicknick collapsed and ultimately died hours later.

Officer Sicknick’s death was initially reported as being caused by injuries sustained during the attack, but in April 2021, the chief medical examiner in Washington, D.C., released a report that concluded his death was caused by two serious strokes. While Officer Sicknick’s strokes are likely to have been precipitated or contributed to by the Capitol attack, it cannot be definitely proven that he was murdered by a Capitol stormer. Therefore, his death is not classified as a murder in ADL’s Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2021 report.

ADL agreed however with the U.S. Capitol Police that the nature of his death did not alter the fact that Officer Sicknick died in the line of duty, bravely defending Congress.