Half the studied extremists harbored violent intent while in their organizations

Evidence

Through these efforts, the team was able to conduct 36 interviews: 24 former extremists, ten family members, and two friends. Together, these interviews covered 32 separate cases of radicalization and deradicalization. Of all 32 cases, 24 were white supremacists (eight females and 16 males), and eight were Islamic extremists (one female and seven males). Across all 32 cases, 17 were involved in extremist organizations in the 2000s, with six involved prior to 2000, and six across both eras (three did not provide this information). Sixteen individuals had violent intent, defined as engaging in or planning violent activities during their time in the organization. Seven of the focal individuals involved in these 32 cases were deceased, imprisoned, or otherwise unavailable for interviews; in these seven cases, interviews were conducted with friends or family members exclusively. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 31

Categorization

• XREF: This sample composition matters for testing withdrawal-of-conflict theory: these are real organized extremists, not armchair radicals — seventeen women/families give alternative viewpoints on the same turning points. — connects to: Terrorist groups split internally over how to justify and target violence — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2173; Violent extremism is operationalized as attitudes, intentions, and past violence. — Lea Echelmeyer, Anne-Marie Slotboom, and Frank Weerman, The Putative Effect of Identity on…, 34
• SHARE: A third of the book’s cases rest entirely on family/friend testimony because the focal person was dead or imprisoned — a heavy reliance worth watching when weighing self-report evidence.

Broader Connections

• Violent extremism is operationalized as attitudes, intentions, and past violence. #qualifies (0.78) — Lea Echelmeyer, Anne-Marie Slotboom, and Frank Weerman, The Putative Effect of Identity on…, 34
• Terrorist groups split internally over how to justify and target violence #qualifies (0.72) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2173