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Instagram Sign in Join * Home * Industry * Emerging Innovation * Industry News * IT Modernization * Latest From GAO * Latest From the Inspector General * People on the Move * Subject Matter Areas * AI and Advanced Tech * Biometrics & ID Management * Border Security * Climate Security * Counterterrorism * Customs & Immigration * Cybersecurity * Education and Training * Emergency Preparedness * Federal Government * Human Trafficking * Information Sharing * Information Technology * Infrastructure Security * Intelligence * Interoperable Communications * Law Enforcement and Public Safety * Leadership/Management * Maritime Security * Mental Health Resilience * Pandemic/Biohazard * State/Local Government * Surveillance, Protection & Detection * Terrorism Study * Transportation Security * WMD * Federal Pages * DHS * DOJ * Government Reports and Summaries * ODNI * Events * HSToday Awards * Events * Education and Training * Webinars & Interviews * Webinar Archive * Podcasts * Books we’re Reading * Homeland Security Charities * The Editors * Editorial Board * Contributing Editors * Columnists * Staff * Special Features * 9/11 commemoration * 9/11 Contributors * DHS@20 * 50 TRAILBLAZERS * Meet Your Mission * INVASION OF UKRAINE Sign in Welcome!Log into your account your username your password Forgot your password? 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Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Sign in / Join Facebook Linkedin Twitter HSTODAYHSTODAY * Home * Industry * AllEmerging InnovationIndustry NewsIT ModernizationLatest From GAOLatest From the Inspector GeneralPeople on the Move MICHAEL TEMPLETON SERVES BARRISTER ANALYTICS AS CEO AND COFOUNDER SUSAN RUFFO SELECTED AS NOAA’S DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS GAO: FULLY IMPLEMENTING KEY PRACTICES COULD HELP DHS ENSURE RESPONSIBLE USE FOR CYBERSECURITY GAO: ENHANCING SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY * Subject Matter Areas * AI and Advanced Tech * Biometrics & ID Management * Border Security * Climate Security * Counterterrorism * Customs & Immigration * Cybersecurity * Education and Training * Emergency Preparedness * Federal Government * Human Trafficking * Information Sharing * Information Technology * Infrastructure Security * Intelligence * Interoperable Communications * Law Enforcement and Public Safety * Leadership/Management * Maritime Security * Mental Health Resilience * Pandemic/Biohazard * State/Local Government * Surveillance, Protection & Detection * Terrorism Study * Transportation Security * WMD * Federal Pages * AllDHSDOJGovernment Reports and SummariesODNI GAO: FULLY IMPLEMENTING KEY PRACTICES COULD HELP DHS ENSURE RESPONSIBLE USE FOR CYBERSECURITY GAO: ADDITIONAL ACTIONS NEEDED TO IMPROVE OVERSIGHT OF JOINT TASK FORCES US HOUSE IMPEACHES HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS IN HISTORIC VOTE DHS BLUE CAMPAIGN PARTNERS WITH LYFT TO FIGHT HUMAN TRAFFICKING * Events * HSToday Awards * Events * Education and Training * Webinars & Interviews * Webinar Archive * Podcasts * Books we’re Reading * Homeland Security Charities * The Editors * Editorial Board * Contributing Editors * Columnists * Staff * Special Features * 9/11 commemoration * 9/11 Contributors * DHS@20 * 50 TRAILBLAZERS * Meet Your Mission * INVASION OF UKRAINE Search Federal GovernmentLaw Enforcement and Public Safety PERSPECTIVE: THE EVOLVING VIOLENT EXTREMIST THREAT By Daryl Johnson Alejandro Beutel February 14, 2024 Share Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email The 2024 Presidential election season is now underway and as campaign rhetoric heats up, so do the passions of many citizens across the political spectrum. While this time is an exercise in the fundamental values and institutions of democracy, as two seasoned analysts of American domestic violent extremism, we are also aware it is a period when the risk of political violence is elevated. While much of this attention is understandably and rightfully directed toward the threat posed by far-right actors—which, in our assessment remains the biggest domestic threat to the U.S. homeland—it is important to not lose sight of potentially dangerous actors on the far-left, either. Their intent and capacity for violence, including lethal attacks, cannot be overlooked, or overestimated. Who Are Violent Far-Left Extremists? Before describing our assessment, first, a word about who violent far-leftists are. When speaking of the “far-left,” we’re referring to actors who hold beliefs that favor social egalitarianism but are otherwise hostile to the procedural and behavioral norms of liberal democracy, namely manifesting ideas and behaviors that are illiberal and/or authoritarian. Our research suggests there are four main sub-ideological types of U.S. violent far-leftists: * Extremist strands of left-wing Black nationalists * Left-wing Anarchist extremists * Anti-fascist extremists (aka “antifa”) * Ecological extremists We discuss the specifics who these actors are and what they believe in our recent publication on domestic violent far-leftist extremism. What’s important to note here is that while sometimes overlapping with each other in terms movement supporters and beliefs, they nevertheless represent distinct sub-currents within a wider far-left milieu. In other words, violent far-leftists are not a monolithic and cannot be reduced to a single belief like antifa. Background and Drivers of Mobilization Violent far-leftists were extremely active during the Cold War, constituting the pre-dominant terrorist threat during the 1970s. After the dissolution of the USSR, violent far-leftist attacks were overtaken in terms of casualty counts by violent far-right and violent Islamist actors in the 1990s to the mid 2010s. For a short period of time between the late 1990s and early 2000s, violent ecological extremists, in the form of animal rights and environmental extremists, constituted the primary threat. By the early to mid-2000s this activity sharply declined due to a combination of societal backlash and law enforcement responses. Since the mid-2010s, there has been a resurgence of far-leftist armed mobilization. They have been energized by a variety of issues such as minority rights, growing negative impacts of climate change, economic inequality, threats to democratic norms and institutions, a desire to counter-mobilize against a resurgent far-right movement, and most recently, violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Modus Operandi As we pointed out earlier, violent far-leftists manifest sub-ideological diversity. This is important to note because their underlying belief sets largely inform targeting behaviors. For example, eco-extremists will be primarily focused on specific issues and events related to climate change and environmental damage, whereas left-wing Black nationalists are largely mobilized by events related to police brutality and overreach. With that in mind, however, violent far-leftists often cooperate across sub-ideological lines where they perceive intersectional struggles (where issue interests overlap). The intense high-profile opposition to the planned “Cop City” facility in Atlanta is illustrative in this regard. Local reporting suggests the opposition group called the Forest Defenders is an ad hoc coalition of actors expressing Marxist, left-wing anarchist, and anti-fascist beliefs, driven by a combination of ecological, anti-police, and racial justice views. While most of their activities have been non-violent, some group supporters have used violence to advance their cause. The general trend of violent far-leftist targeting has been directed at property. Far-leftists tend to favor a variety of physical “direct action” behaviors that, according to one online guide to direct action written by anonymous movement insiders, “can take many different forms, from occupying buildings or blocking roads, to more disruptive actions such as property damage or violence.” The more unlawful and physically destructive behaviors include acts of harassment, vandalism, sabotage, arson, and assault using melee weapons or no weapons. In more extreme cases, detailed in our publication, this can include stabbings, shootings, vehicular assault, kidnappings, and explosions. To the extent that far-left violence is directed at people, it is mostly and intentionally non-fatal. This is due to operational and ideological preferences that favor inflicting economic damage (e.g., ending capitalism) and bringing attention to specific issues rather than harming civilians (though an exception to this trend is fatal attacks targeting police officers). Yet, we have noted in previous assessments, there are also signs of possible growing intent to kill non-police civilians, suggesting internal constraints against generating fatalities are eroding. This erosion has to do largely with societal factors (e.g. counter-mobilization against armed far-rightists) but is also enabled by far-leftists’ ideologically and operationally motivated eschewal of formal organizational structures. In addition to mitigating the risk of law enforcement infiltration, due to a belief in radical egalitarianism, many violent far-leftists reject the idea of hierarchical groups altogether. The lack of command-and-control structures that can constrain the impulses and behaviors of otherwise fringe individuals, enables them to slide into violence easier. Forecast We assess a substantially increased risk of social turmoil and political violence by violent far-left extremists for at least the next 12 months as the United States enters its national election season. Political tensions arising from many of the issues driving far-left mobilization are intensifying and exacerbated by the likely presidential candidacy of incendiary former President Donald Trump. Beyond the effects of former President Trump, the United States has been confronted a deeper and longstanding socio-political polarization. Coupled with growing multi-faceted domestic and international issues and conflicts, this will continue to fuel rallies and civil disturbances by both the far left and far right. Such gatherings could lead to another round of violent outbreaks between competing protest groups, or worse. Competing armed political assemblies held near each other are at an especially elevated risk of becoming violent. Finally, in terms of operational practices, there is nothing to suggest that violent far-leftists will change their general organizational approach; decentralized and leaderless structures are used to avoid law enforcement scrutiny. Violent far-right extremists who fuel counter-mobilization from violent far-left extremists will be especially energized in 2024. * Tags * 2024 Presidential election season * perspective * Violent Extremist Threat Share Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Previous article Ryan A. Higgins Steps into Acting Chief Information Officer Role at DOC Next article Juan G. Bernal Named Chief Patrol Agent in Maine Daryl Johnson Alejandro Beutel Daryl Johnson is one of the foremost experts on domestic extremist groups in the US. Beginning his career as a civilian in the US Army, Johnson has held a number of government positions, most recently as senior analyst at the Department of Homeland Security. He is currently the founder of DT Analytics, a private consulting firm for law enforcement. He is also regularly cited, featured, or quoted in media covering domestic extremist groups in the US, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, National Public Radio, MSNBC, CNN, and NBC Nightly News, among many others. He is the author of “Hateland: A Long, Hard Look at America's Extremist Heart" (Prometheus Books, 2019) and "Right-Wing Resurgence: How a Domestic Terrorism Threat Is Being Ignored" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012). Johnson is also a free lance writer for various media and civil rights organizations. In 2012, he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on hate crimes and the threat of domestic extremism. || Alejandro J. Beutel is a Non-Resident Fellow at the New Lines Institute, specializing in the study and analysis of violent and non-violent Islamist and far-right movements. He is also a Research Affiliate at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). From August 2017 to March 1, 2019 he was a Senior Research Analyst at Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) Intelligence Project where he monitored U.S. far-right extremism and hate, focusing primarily on the anti-Muslim and antigovernmental “Patriot” movements. Prior to SPLC, Beutel was a Researcher for Countering Violent Extremism at START, focused on the narratives of violent U.S. far-right and Al-Qaeda and ISIS-associated actors. In 2014, Beutel was the Policy and Research Engagement Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), an applied research think-tank specializing in the study and promotion of evidence-based development strategies for positive civic, social, and political engagement outcomes for American Muslim communities. Beutel graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2013 with a Master of Public Policy. He also has a Bachelor of Science in International Relations and Diplomacy from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. 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