Extremism-linked homicides decline for second year in a row in US, new data finds

For the second year in a row, murders in the United States connected to extremism have declined, according to new data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).  

Extremists were involved in the killing of 17 people in 2023, a significant drop from the 27 extremist-related murders in 2022 and 35 identified in 2021.

It continues a trend of fewer extremist-related killings after a five-year span (2015-2019) in which the number of extremist-related murders ranged from 47 to 79, the report confirms.

The ADL Center on Extremism’s annual Murder and Extremism report also found that all extremist-related killings of 2023 were connected to right-wing extremism, with white supremacists tied to the overwhelming majority (88%). 

“Our data shows that, while extremist killings have decreased, the threat of extremist mass shootings has not,” said Oren Segal, Vice President for the ADL Center on Extremism.

“The extremist landscape remains complex, and the threat of deadly extremist violence may be even higher this year as many of the issues animating hate and violence can be exacerbated in an election year,” he added.