The Department of Justice quietly deleted a study showing that far-right attacks outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violence extremism in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
A June 2024 study on domestic extremism by the National Institute of Justice, a research agency under the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, began by noting that “militant, nationalistic, white supremacist violent extremism has increased in the United States.”
“In fact, the number of far-right attacks continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism,” it reads. “Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists.”
The paper goes on to state that “no single profile accurately captures the characteristics of the individuals who commit extremist and hate crimes,” citing data from two NIJ databases.
The study was on the OJP website until around Friday, when sharp-eyed social media users noticed that it had been replaced with an error message stating, “The requested page could not be found.” The deletion was first reported by investigative reporter Jason Paladino.
The entire 13-page study can still be accessed through an archived version of the webpage.
The paper generated renewed interest after Kirk, a conservative activist who pushed right-wing values through his popular podcast, was shot dead in Utah last week. The assassination immediately set off a firestorm of finger-pointing between liberals and conservatives, who accused each other of sowing political violence.
President Donald Trump was quick to hold “radical left lunatics” responsible for Kirk’s killing, telling reporters that individuals and groups on “the left” have been placed under investigation.
“If you look at the problem, the problem is on the left. It’s not on the right,” he said on Sunday. “When you look at the agitators, you look at the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag burnings all over the place—that’s the left. That’s not the right.”
Some social media users had cited the NIJ study in arguing that the left should not take the blame. The paper does indicate that “U.S. extremists and individuals who commit hate crimes routinely come from across the ideological spectrum, including far-right, far-left, Islamist, or single-issue ideologies.”
White House correspondents also cornered Trump on Monday with a list of attacks on Democrats carried out by right-wing actors.
“I didn’t say it’s on one side,” Trump countered, “but I say the radical left causes tremendous violence and they seem to do it in a bigger way.”
The suspect in Kirk’s shooting has been identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Several officials have claimed that the alleged shooter subscribed to “left-wing ideology,” but a criminal indictment filed Tuesday provided scant details supporting the claim.
Robinson allegedly told his roommate and romantic partner that he “had enough” of Kirk’s “hatred.”
“Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” he wrote.
The OJP and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The post DOJ Quietly Scrubs Study on Far-Right Attacks After Kirk Shooting appeared first on The Daily Beast.
