US domestic extremists divide into far-right, Islamist, and far-left groups of very unequal size.
Evidence
The literature illustrates that the three major extremist ideologies currently present in the United States are far right, far left, and Islamist. The PIRUS database, in particular, provides a robust picture of the ideological leanings and demographic profiles of radicalized individuals. Of the 2,226 people examined in the PIRUS database, the overwhelming majority fell into these three ideological groups, with 977 individuals adhering to far-right extremism, 511 adhering to Islamic extremism, and 374 adhering to far-left extremism. — 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, 165
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: US counterterror policing imports Middle Eastern sectarian divides into domestic Muslim communities — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 395; Far-right domestic extremists killed far more Americans than Islamist extremists after 2001; Islamist groups are locally shaped and resist homogenizing categorization (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Far-right domestic extremists killed far more Americans than Islamist extremists after 2001
#exemplifies(0.85) - Islamist groups are locally shaped and resist homogenizing categorization
#complicates(0.78) - US security agencies split between Islam-centric and complexity-based radicalization models.
#expands(0.75) - US counterterror policing imports Middle Eastern sectarian divides into domestic Muslim communities
#qualifies(0.72) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 395 - Extremist parties need diverse personality types, not uniform authoritarians.
#complicates(0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 682