Financial Crime and Political Extremism in the U.S.

A descriptive analysis of Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) data reveals that both far-right and al-Qaida-inspired extremists in the United States engaged in different types of financial schemes, followed distinct modi operandi and were prosecuted for a variety of both financial and non-financial crimes. Despite these differences, a common trend was identified—the involvement of non-extremist accomplices who provided useful resources for the crime commission process.