surge in Lone-Wolf Political Violence Puzzles Experts, Raises Concerns About Online Radicalization
WASHINGTON D.C. – A disturbing trend of politically motivated attacks carriedโ out by individuals โwith unclear motives and no apparent organizationalโ ties is escalating in the United States,leaving law enforcement and experts struggling to understand the root โฃcauses and predict future events. Recent incidents, including attempted assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump and an attack on conservative activist โCharlie Kirk, highlight a shift from group-based politicalโ violence to a more fragmented, self-radicalized form of extremism.
In May 2023, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old registered Republican, attempted โขto killโ Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. Investigations revealed Crooks held a complex and shifting set of beliefs, seemingly โweighing various โpotential targets, including President โJoe Biden, in the months prior to the attack.
Just weeks later, Tyler James Robinson, 22, ofโ Utah, was chargedโฃ with shooting Charlie Kirk. Prosecutor Jeff Gray has outlined a scenario where โRobinson, raised in a Republican household, recently adoptedโฃ moreโฃ progressive views, including support for โLGBTQ+ rights. โRobinson’s roommate and romantic partner isโฃ transgender,โ and following โขthe shooting, Robinson reportedly told his โroommate in a text exchange that heโฃ acted as “I had enough of his hatred.Some hatred can’t be negotiated out.”
These โฃincidents, โขwhile โdistinct, share a common thread: the perpetrators appearโข to be operating outside established political movements. Thisโข marks a departure from historical โฃpatterns ofโ political violenceโ in the โU.S., which were more frequently associated with organized groupsโ like the left-wing Weather Underground in the 1970s, and right-wing militias โandโฃ anti-abortionโข movements in the 1980s and 90s.
“There is a ‘deeperโ trend:โข the ‘ungrouping’ of political violence asโ people self-radicalize via โฃonlineโ engagement,” explains Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowmentโ for International Peace, in a recent article published in the Journal of Democracy.
The popular narrative โof a coordinated, underground networkโ like Antifa, often invoked byโ figures like former President Trump, is largely unfounded. Experts,โค like those interviewed for The New โขYorker, emphasize thatโ Antifa “does not exist” as a centralized, disciplinedโฃ association. Instead, โขisolated individuals are increasingly engaging in opaque acts ofโค violence that defy โeasy categorization.
Katherine Keneally, a threat-assessment expert, told The New York Times that incidents “where we can’t figure out why they did it, are becoming more common.” Even whenโ perpetrators leave behind โฃfragments of description – manifestos, social media posts, or messages – a cohesive ideology remains elusive.
The consequences of โคtheseโ attacks are far-reaching. Followingโค the shooting of Charlie Kirk, โฃthere have been increased โfederal and local restrictions on free speech, and โa โrise in the prominence of white supremacistโ Nick Fuentes, who appears to be attempting to โฃcapitalize on โthe void left โฃby Kirk. Ironically, the attack on Kirk, potentially intended as an act of solidarity with transgender individuals, has arguably increased vulnerability for โbothโค Robinson’s roommate and the broader trans community.
The rise of this “ungrouped” political violence presents a notable challenge forโค law enforcement and researchers, โคdemanding a deeper understanding of the factors driving individuals โขtowards โextremism and the role of online radicalization in fueling these attacks.The mystery surrounding the motivations of these โขpolitical assassins โunderscores the urgent need for proactive โstrategies to address the underlying causes of this growing threat.
