While the horrific tragedy of 9/11 remains seared into the national memory, the unsettling truth is that over the past five decades, more than 3,300 terrorist acts and plots have unfolded on American soil, revealing a complex and evolving threat that is now overwhelmingly homegrown.
Key Takeaways
- Between 1970 and 2020, the United States experienced 3,386 terrorist attacks and plots according to the Global Terrorism Database
- In 2019, there were 54 terrorist incidents in the US, a 57% increase from 2018, primarily domestic
- From 1990 to 2021, far-right extremists conducted 267 attacks or plots in the US
- Post-9/11 to 2022, 120 deaths from domestic terrorism vs 107 jihadist
- From 1990-2021, far-right terrorism caused 335 deaths in US
- 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people, deadliest terrorist event
- Boston Marathon injured 264 people
- Oklahoma City bombing injured over 680
- 9/11 attacks injured over 6,000
- White supremacists responsible for 78% of extremist murders 2010-2022
- From 1994-2020, 66% of domestic terrorists were far-right motivated
- Post-9/11 jihadist plotters: 85% US citizens or permanent residents
- FBI arrested 1,750 domestic terrorism subjects 2010-2021
- In 2022, DHS reported 200+ DVEs arrested
- Post-9/11, 475 jihadists convicted federally
Terrorism in America involves persistent domestic and jihadist threats causing significant fatalities.
Arrests
- FBI arrested 1,750 domestic terrorism subjects 2010-2021
- In 2022, DHS reported 200+ DVEs arrested
- Post-9/11, 475 jihadists convicted federally
- 2020 saw 100+ Boogaloo-related arrests
- From 2017-2021, 250 white supremacist arrests for plots
- FBI disrupted 85% of jihadist plots before execution
- In 2021, 40 militia extremists arrested
- Michigan Gov Whitmer kidnap plot: 14 arrested 2020
- Capitol riot led to 1,200+ extremism-related arrests
- 2019, 15 far-right plots foiled via arrests
- From 2001-2020, 3,000+ terrorism arrests total
- 2023, 50+ DVEs arrested first quarter
- Synagogue shooter plots: 10 arrested 2018-2022
- ISIS-inspired: 20 arrests in 2019 alone
- 75% of domestic terror arrests were for firearms violations
- 2022, 25 racially motivated arrests post-Buffalo
- Anarchist-related: 50 arrests post-2020 protests
- From 2010-2021, 90% arrests led to convictions
- Jan 6 committee identified 200+ charged with extremism ties
- 2016, 40 jihadist arrests
Arrests Interpretation
While these statistics reveal a daunting spectrum of ideological threats from jihadist to white supremacist to anarchist, the consistent thread is that American law enforcement spends most of its time playing a grim, high-stakes game of Whac-A-Mole with heavily armed extremists, and the conviction rate suggests they’re depressingly good at it.
Fatalities
- Post-9/11 to 2022, 120 deaths from domestic terrorism vs 107 jihadist
- From 1990-2021, far-right terrorism caused 335 deaths in US
- 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people, deadliest terrorist event
- Oklahoma City bombing fatalities: 168, including 19 children
- Pulse nightclub: 49 fatalities, 53 injured
- Boston Marathon bombing: 3 deaths
- San Bernardino: 14 deaths
- Fort Hood 2009: 13 fatalities
- 2022, 25 extremist-related murders, 18 by right-wing
- From 2010-2020, jihadist attacks killed 104 post-9/11
- El Paso Walmart shooting 2019: 23 deaths
- Pittsburgh synagogue 2018: 11 killed
- Buffalo 2022: 10 fatalities
- 1993 WTC bombing: 6 deaths
- Chattanooga 2015: 5 deaths
- Little Rock recruiters 2009: 1 death
- 2021, 29 domestic extremist murders
- From 2001-2019, far-right killed 114, jihadists 107
- Centennial Olympic Park 1996: 2 deaths
- 2014 Las Vegas shootings by militants: 3 deaths
- Overland Park Jewish center 2014: 3 killed
- Knoxville Unitarian church 2008: 2 deaths
- 2020, 17 murders by extremists, 16 right-wing
- 2016, 69 extremist murders, mostly right-wing
- 2017, 34 extremist-related killings
- From 1970-2020, 3,157 total fatalities from terrorism
Fatalities Interpretation
While the singular horror of 9/11 defines our collective memory, the persistent and often deadlier threat within our own borders reveals a sobering truth: the enemy is not always a stranger, but sometimes a neighbor radicalized by a different set of lies.
Incidents
- Between 1970 and 2020, the United States experienced 3,386 terrorist attacks and plots according to the Global Terrorism Database
- In 2019, there were 54 terrorist incidents in the US, a 57% increase from 2018, primarily domestic
- From 1990 to 2021, far-right extremists conducted 267 attacks or plots in the US
- The Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, was the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in US history with 168 fatalities
- In 2020, the US saw 61 domestic terrorism incidents linked to white supremacists
- From 2001 to 2021, jihadist terrorists attempted or executed 107 attacks in the US post-9/11
- The 2015 San Bernardino shooting was classified as a terrorist attack killing 14
- Between 2010 and 2020, anarchists committed 23 property attacks classified as terrorism
- In 2017, there were 65 terrorist plots foiled in the US, mostly domestic
- The 1993 World Trade Center bombing killed 6 and injured over 1,000
- From 1970-2019, separatist terrorism accounted for 18% of US incidents
- In 2022, 42 domestic violent extremist attacks occurred
- The Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016 was the deadliest jihadist attack post-9/11 with 49 deaths
- Between 2015-2021, racially motivated attacks rose 357%
- In 2001, excluding 9/11, there were 11 other terrorist incidents
- The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing killed 3 and injured 264
- From 1994-2020, 57% of domestic terrorist attacks were far-right
- In 2021, 23 attacks by militia extremists
- The 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing killed 2
- Between 2016-2020, anti-government extremists conducted 38 attacks
- In 2018, 11 jihadist plots were disrupted
- The 2009 Fort Hood shooting killed 13 by a jihadist extremist
- From 1970-2020, unknown perpetrators responsible for 25% of incidents
- In 2023, first half saw 15 domestic incidents
- The 2015 Chattanooga shootings killed 5
- Between 2010-2022, 150+ vehicle ramming attacks by extremists
- In 1999, the Columbine attack had terrorism links debated, but 13 deaths
- From 2008-2018, 71% of extremist murders by right-wing
- The 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting killed 10, racially motivated
- In 2014, 19 domestic plots foiled
Incidents Interpretation
While the nation's focus has often been trained on threats from abroad, the numbers coldly insist that the most persistent and escalating danger has been, and remains, a domestic one, fueled by ideologies of hate and violent extremism born within our own borders.
Injuries
- Boston Marathon injured 264 people
- Oklahoma City bombing injured over 680
- 9/11 attacks injured over 6,000
- Pulse nightclub injured 53
- San Bernardino injured 22
- 1993 WTC bombing injured 1,042
- El Paso Walmart 2019 injured 23
- Pittsburgh synagogue injured 6
- Buffalo 2022 injured 3
- Fort Hood 2009 injured 32
- Chattanooga 2015 injured 2
- From 1990-2021, far-right attacks injured 499
- 2022 extremist attacks injured 15 people
- Centennial Olympic Park injured 111
- Overland Park 2014 injured 0 but targeted
- From 2001-2021, jihadist attacks injured 483
- 2016 NYC truck attack injured 11
- 2017 NYC bike path attack killed 8 injured 11
- Portland train stabbing 2017 injured 3
- From 1970-2020, terrorism injured 20,942 in US
- 2021 saw 12 injuries from domestic extremism
- 2020 Boogaloo attacks injured several, total 4 noted
- 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting injured 17
- Dayton 2019 shooting injured 17, far-right links
- 2018 Pittsburgh injured 2 officers
- From 2010-2020, right-wing extremists injured 150+
- 2009 Little Rock injured 1
Injuries Interpretation
The statistics paint a grim mosaic of American resilience, where the chilling calculus of terrorism—from twisted ideology to poisoned rhetoric—is measured not in debates but in the broken bodies of thousands who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong, hate-filled time.
Perpetrators
- White supremacists responsible for 78% of extremist murders 2010-2022
- From 1994-2020, 66% of domestic terrorists were far-right motivated
- Post-9/11 jihadist plotters: 85% US citizens or permanent residents
- In 2022, 21 white supremacist murder perpetrators identified
- 75% of domestic terrorism arrests 2010-2021 were white males
- Boogaloo movement linked to 13 arrests in 2020
- From 2015-2021, 80% of extremist violence by right-wing
- Timothy McVeigh, Oklahoma City perpetrator, army veteran
- Omar Mateen, Pulse nightclub, pledged to ISIS
- Dylann Roof, Charleston church shooter, white supremacist
- Tsarnaev brothers, Boston Marathon, radicalized online
- 2022 Buffalo shooter influenced by Great Replacement theory
- 60% of jihadist terrorists post-9/11 were converts or second-gen
- Militia extremists: 75% male, average age 40
- Anarchist perpetrators often young, under 30, 2020 data
- From 2001-2019, 70% far-right perpetrators lone actors
- El Paso shooter manifesto cited Hispanic invasion
- Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Gab user, anti-Semite
- 90% of domestic terror convicts 2010-2020 sentenced over 10 years
- Jihadist groups: ISIS inspired 50% post-2014 attacks
- 2021, 18 white supremacist killers, all male
- Average age of far-right terrorists: 35 years
- 40% of arrested domestic terrorists had military background
- Left-wing extremists: 6% of attacks 1994-2020
Perpetrators Interpretation
While homegrown extremism in America has worn many hateful faces since 9/11, the statistics paint a stark, recurring portrait: the most persistent and lethal threat emerges from a domestic landscape of radicalization, where ideologies of white supremacy and far-right conspiracies are not imported, but indigenously cultivated and violently harvested.
Trends
- Trends: Domestic incidents tripled 2010-2020
- Jihadist fatalities peaked 2015-2016 then declined 90%
- Far-right attacks up 250% since 2016
- Online radicalization drove 75% of 2020-2022 plots
- Lethality of far-right attacks doubled 2010-2020
- Vehicle ramming attacks rose 400% post-2016
- Domestic terrorism designated top threat by FBI 2019 onward
- Post-COVID, militia plots up 50%
- Jihadist plots foiled rate 85% vs 50% domestic
- White supremacist murders 75% of extremist killings 2010s
- Lone actors 80% of attacks since 2010
- Firearms used in 75% domestic murders
- Anti-government sentiment up 300% in plots 2015-2022
- 2023 saw shift to election-related threats
Trends Interpretation
While domestic terrorists have largely replaced jihadists as America's most lethal threat, our intelligence success rate has regrettably swapped priorities, leaving us far better at stopping the plots we once feared than the ones now killing us.
Sources & References
- Reference 1STARTstart.umd.eduVisit source
- Reference 2CSIScsis.orgVisit source
- Reference 3NEWAMERICAnewamerica.orgVisit source
- Reference 4FBIfbi.govVisit source
- Reference 5ADLadl.orgVisit source
- Reference 6GAOgao.govVisit source
- Reference 7DHSdhs.govVisit source
- Reference 8HERITAGEheritage.orgVisit source
- Reference 9WASHINGTONPOSTwashingtonpost.comVisit source
- Reference 10CATOcato.orgVisit source
- Reference 11JUSTICEjustice.govVisit source
- Reference 12CTCctc.westpoint.eduVisit source
- Reference 13RANDrand.orgVisit source
- Reference 14USSCussc.govVisit source
- Reference 15STATEstate.govVisit source