Far-right Violence in the United States: 1990-2013

Following the June 8, 2014 shootings in Las Vegas that resulted in the murders of two police officers and one civilian, START researchers compiled background information from the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) on ideologically motivated far-right violence in the United States, generally, and far-right extremist crimes related to law enforcement, specifically. In addition, information on ideologically motivated far-right suicide attacks is also presented, as preliminary reporting seems to indicate that the suspects were not expecting to live through their confrontation with law enforcement.

Although the ECDB includes crimes committed by individuals with varying ideologies, this report focuses exclusively on far-right violence and crime due to reports that the alleged perpetrators in Las Vegas were motivated by anti-government and white supremacist ideology. Should additional information about the ideological motivation for the attack confirm the initial reporting, this fact sheet may help to contextualize the event.