With the Spotlight On Las Vegas, We Explore the Right-Wing Terrorism Threat
“Right-wing terrorism”. That is mainstream media’s bugaboo buzzword at the moment. But is it truly an ascending threat or a “Big Media” concoction based on top-down directives by left-leaning “globalist” corporate owners? We explore whether last week’s Las Vegas shooting qualifies as “right-wing” violence and the overall threat right-wing terrorism presents in general.
Last week’s Las Vegas tragedy, with 58 people dead and over 500 injured, still resonates in the consciousness of most Americans. How could it not? It was the biggest mass murder event in America’s long history. But according to the mainstream’s reporting of the event, it was largely and open-and-shut case: deranged white male and gun fanatic goes on a shooting rampage.
Advertisement
Yes, on a surface-skimming factual level, that is correct. But the real question is whether this was an act of right-wing terrorism. The mainstream media is claiming it is, mainly through the nonstop gun control narrative beating us over the head all day. After all, “gun fanaticism” is usually associated with “right-wing” behavior. By focusing on gun control, the media is implying the tragedy was caused by the right.
But is that really true? Recent events suggest that nobody really knows–not even the lead investigators on the case.
For instance, despite FBI claims that this incident was not an act of terrorism, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo floated the possibility that assertion was incorrect. At an October 4 press briefing, Lombardo stated, “Did this person get radicalized unbeknownst to us? And we want to identify that source”. This counters the FBI assertion that the event was not a terrorism act. (Source: “Sheriff: Did Las Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock ‘Get Radicalized’?,” Breitbart, October 4, 2017.)
More recently, a full week after the shooting, Lombardo walked back the critical event timeline. He revealed that security guard Jesus Campos was shot six minutes before the shooting took place, instead of after it. Why does this matter? Because it highlights how investigators can’t even piece together the actual event, let alone the cause.
Then we have ISIS tripling down on their insistence that Paddock was one of their operatives. The mainstream media assumption is that ISIS is simply thumping their chests. But is that assumption true?
ISIS is not known to take credit for operations they don’t conduct. They have a strong track record of accuracy in the attacks the officially claim. After all, why hoax responsibility for an attack you don’t commit? That’s a surefire way to lose credibility when the truth comes out. As left-leaning site Vice notes, “If the (attack) proves groundless, analysts say, it would be among the most egregious false statements the terror group has ever issued.” (Source: “Isis Claiming Las Vegas Has Terror Experts Confused,” Vice, October 3, 2017.)
Finally, we present an obvious question the mainstream media is missing: if Las Vegas was perpetrated by a radical right-wing extremist, why would he strike a country music festival containing mostly conservative, right-leaning attendees? Common sense dictates that terrorist acts happen to people terrorists despise, not share commonality with.
In the end, I believe the reasons behind the Las Vegas shooting are far from settled. But if radicalization was involved, who’s more likely to perpetrate such violence? Extreme right-wing terrorist groups against like-minded citizens, on left-wing groups constantly professing their intention to incite violence?
Berkeley, Alexandria, Chicago, Orlando, Murfreesboro, Antifa, Black Lives Matter, Evergreen, Hollywood, CNN. . . the majority of incitement seems to be emanating from one side, and it’s mainly not from the far right.
Right-Wing Terrorism Rise in U.S.?
In the wake of the Charlottesville debacle, California State Senate Leader Kevin de León criticized President Donald Trump for not condemning (right-wing) white nationalists explicitly. He further claimed that, “Radical right wing terrorism is on the rise… right-wing extremist groups, including white supremacists, outnumber those by Islamic jihadists by two to one.” (Source: “Who carries out more terror attacks on U.S. soil: Right wing or Islamic extremists?,” Politifact California, August 31, 2017.)
But even if we take that statistic at face value, how does one define right-wing terrorism? Would that include the Las Vegas shooting, which is far from settled? Or do we define right-wing terrorism as a violent act motivated by racism or bigotry? The definition matters, since partisan associations tend to link any violent event committed by a white male with a gun as “right wing.”
The fact is, although organizations like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) claim right-wing terrorism is on the rise, there’s a lack of agreement among experts over how to define terrorism. There’s also a tremendous amount of ambiguity as to the motivation behind many of the attacks. That gives both the left and right the opportunity to accuse each other of “terrorism,” even when motivation is in doubt. The Las Vegas shooting is a primary example.
As such, there’s no clear answer to the question. There’s no shortage of claims, but no conclusive answers.
Right-Wing Terrorism Vs. Islamic Terrorism
According to a April 2017 United States Government Accountability Office report, in America, far-right-wing violent extremist groups were responsible for 62 of 85 attacks post-9/11, while Islamic groups were responsible for 23 attacks. (Source: “Countering Violent Extremism: Actions Needed to Define Strategy and Assess Progress of Federal Efforts,” United States Government Accountability Office, April 6, 2017.)
That’s a ratio of less than three to one, despite the fact Muslims only make up about one percent of entire population (3.3-million Muslims lived in America in 2015, according to Pew Research).
So factually speaking, right-wing terrorism is more common in America. But on a per capita basis, it dwarfs in volume to the growing menace of Islamic terrorism.
Of course, this report excludes the 9/11 attack, which is exponentially the largest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history. If we expand the time horizon a little bit, terrorists have murdered 3,342 people on U.S. soil from 1992 through August 2017. Ninety-two percent of all those murders came from Islamic terrorism.
Recent Right-Wing Terrorism Acts
| Year | Event | Location | Victims Wounded | Victims Killed (excluding attacker) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Car-ramming attack into counter-protestors at a white nationalist rally | Charlottesville, Virginia | 19 | 1 |
| 2017 | Portland train attack | Portland, Oregon | 1 | 2 |
| 2017 | Stabbing of Timothy Caughman | New York City | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 | Shooting at a showing of the film Trainwreck | Lafayette, Louisiana | 9 | 2 |
| 2015 | Planned Parenthood shooting | Colorado Springs, Colorado | 9 | 3 |
| 2015 | Shooting attack on worshippers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church | Charleston, South Carolina | 9 | |
| 2014 | Attack on Pennsylvania State Police barracks | Blooming Grove, Pennsylvania | 1 | 1 |
| 2014 | Ambush attack on Las Vegas police officers | Las Vegas, Nevada | 3 | |
| 2014 | Overland Park Jewish Community Center shooting | Overland Park, Kansas | ||
| 2013 | Los Angeles International Airport shooting attack on TSA officer | Los Angeles, California | 6 | 1 |
| 2013 | Double murder committed by Jeremy Lee Moody and Christine Moody | Jonesville, South Carolina | 0 | 2 |
| 2012 | Ambush attack against St. John the Baptist Parish police | St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana | 2 | 2 |
| 2012 | Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting | Oak Creek, Wisconsin | 4 | 6 |
| 2012 | Tri-state killing spree by white supremacists David Pedersen and Holly Grigsby | Multiple | 4 | |
| 2011 | FEAR group attacks | Georgia | 3 | |
| 2010 | Murder committed by Aryan Brotherhood members | Mississippi | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | Shooting at bookstore cafe perpetrated by Ross William Muehlberger | Wichita Falls, Texas | 4 | 1 |
| 2010 | Murder at gun range | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | Suicide attack by airplane | Austin, Texas | 0 | 1 |
Source: “Dataset”, New America, last accessed October 11, 2017.
Above is a sampling of “right-wing” domestic violent events since 2010. It’s worth noting that some events of the list may have a questionable right-wing pedigree, such as the car-ramming attack into counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s unclear whether that tragedy was an accident caused by left-wing attacks on the perpetrator or an actual case of “hate.”
Other events on the table may fall under the same umbrella, although other events are clearly right-wing terrorism.
For example, the shooting attack on black worshipers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church certainly was inspired by racism. The perpetrator, Dylann Roof, owned a web site called The Last Rhodesian, which contained white supremacist materials. He also confessed to committing the attack in hopes of starting a race war, which never materialized.
Is Right-Wing Extremism on the Rise?
Again, it’s hard to definitively say for sure. It depends on what constitutes the definition of “right wing”. And even so, numerous terrorist attacks lack a clear, nonpartisan ideological motive (i.e. rage vs. racism, manic episodes vs. cultural bigotry). The lack of transparency between news outlets and government agencies makes understanding important facts difficult.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that populism’s rise could equate to increasing right wing violence. It makes sense in principle. As the “majority” see their culture and influence erode as America becomes more diverse, it’s plausible that violent outbursts could increase. Every civilization has a certain percentage of fringe actors who will resist change, but hard evidence, to date, is lacking.
In the end, the ideological wars sweeping America are set to become more polarizing as time marches forward. The election of Donald Trump has brought about a hysteria never before seen in media circles, from far-left opponents like Antifa all the way to the far reaches of Hollywood. Frankly, it seems like ideological violence is on the upswing from all sides–left, right and foreign-influenced.
It’s a reality which will bare consequences to all Americans.
