Rising violent extremism linked to leftist and pro-Palestinian suspects in the U.S. flies in the face of legacy media narratives that President Donald Trump’s return to office would embolden right-wing extremists.
Law enforcement has grappled with a wave of alleged or confirmed arsons, shootings, threats against government officials and mass rioting stemming from outrage at Trump’s policies or U.S. support for Israel. In the months following Trump’s reelection, media outlets and “experts” quoted in their articles predicted that America might see a resurgence of mostly right-wing or white supremacist violence on his watch.
“That analysis never made any sense, but was always the a priori assumption of research conducted by left-leaning academics incentivized to tell the government the narrative it wanted to hear, in order to receive more government ‘countering violent extremism’ funding,” Kyle Shideler, senior analyst at the Center for Security Policy, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “No matter how many attacks were organized by jihadist terrorists or committed anarchists or communists, ‘Extremism’ was a problem to be found only on the political right, and specifically was the fault of their main political opponent’s rhetoric.”
“Whether Donald Trump won or lost, either result was taken as evidence for an increase in ‘Far Right’ extremism,” Shideler, who has a history of briefing law enforcement officials, told the DCNF. “Even a decrease in ‘hate groups’ could be identified as evidence of their growing power. Heads we win, tails you lose,” Shideler added, referencing media coverage of a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) report which claimed that extremist groups decreased in 2024 as their views “entered the mainstream.”
The SPLC did not respond to a request for comment.
There have been instances of suspects in violent plots linked to white supremacy or conservatism in 2025, including a Wisconsin teen whom the FBI said was affiliated with neo-Nazi and Satanist groups. But rather than being thankful for Trump, the suspect plotted to assassinate him to save “the white race” from “Jewish occupied governments,” court documents allege.
Meanwhile, an April study from Rutgers University and the National Contagion Research Institute found that more than half of self-identified “left of center” Americans believe murdering Trump — who was nearly assassinated ahead of the 2024 election — is at least somewhat justified. Nearly 40% of respondents also said “it is at least somewhat acceptable (or more) to destroy a Tesla dealership in protest” of Musk, according to the researchers.
“These attitudes are not fringe — they reflect an emergent assassination culture, grounded in far-left authoritarianism and increasingly normalized in digital discourse,” the study said.
January
In the early hours of Inauguration Day, surveillance video captured someone throwing Molotov cocktails at a Tesla facility and vehicles in Oregon. The Department of Justice (DOJ) later charged a transgender suspect whom it said is a former member of a socialist gun club with chapters across the U.S.
On Jan. 27, a man carrying Molotov cocktails turned himself in to authorities near the U.S. Capitol after saying he had plans to “kill” Trump-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.
Two days later, a transgender suspect allegedly bombed a Tesla Cybertruck in Colorado.
February
A lipstick-wearing “queer” man in Albuquerque, New Mexico lit fires at a local Tesla showroom and wrote graffiti such as “Tesla Nazi Inc” around the facility on Feb. 9, the DOJ has alleged.
In the same month, the two transgender suspects linked to the January anti-Tesla crimes in Oregon and Colorado targeted the same Tesla facilities again with bullets and incendiary devices before they were finally arrested, according to authorities.
March
On March 30, the suspected New Mexico Tesla vandal allegedly firebombed the state’s Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque and wrote “ICE=KKK.” At least three more shooting and arson attacks on Tesla property and vehicles also reportedly occurred that month, including one linked to a transgender teen.
April
An arsonist set Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home on fire with his family inside on Passover night, ultimately harming no one. Authorities pinned the crime on a man who allegedly admitted to targeting the pro-Israel governor “for Palestine” and had left-wing memorabilia in his own home.
May
A man used a homemade bomb to blow himself up in his vehicle while damaging a fertility clinic in California on May 17, killing himself and injuring 19 others. The FBI later said the deceased suspect appeared to have left behind writings that showed “nihilistic ideations,” and that he targeted the clinic due to “anti-pro-life” views. The DOJ later charged a suspect who allegedly shared the suspect’s ideology with providing material support for the attack.
Less than a week after the clinic bombing, two Israeli Embassy workers were gunned down in the streets of Washington, D.C. The suspected shooter allegedly shouted, “free, free Palestine” while being arrested and told police he “did it for Gaza.” The suspect formerly belonged to the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a group involved in protests around the country. The PSL denied being tied to Rodriguez beyond 2017.
June
Six people were hospitalized in Colorado on June 1 at a pro-Israel demonstration after a man allegedly burned them with an improvised flamethrower and yelled phrases such as “end Zionists” and “Palestine is free.” One of the victims, an 82-year-old woman, died of her injuries weeks later. The suspect was seen in a video he recorded before the attack declaring that he would sacrifice anything for “jihad,” according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.
Beginning days after the Colorado attack, mobs of anti-ICE rioters encouraged by leftist activists took to the streets of California to assault law enforcement, throw fireworks and other objects at them and light fires.
The rioting persisted for days in Los Angeles, and several other U.S. cities saw arrests for similar alleged acts of violence by anti-ICE agitators as June went on.
July
A band of individuals dressed in black threw fireworks, wrote graffiti such as “ICE pig” and fired shots outside a Texas immigration detention facility on the night of July 4th, injuring a local police officer. The DOJ has called the incident “a planned ambush with the intent to kill ICE corrections officers.” Authorities have charged at least 14 people in the plot and found suspects with left-wing anarchist materials.
BREAKING: Authorities have captured Benjamin Song, wanted for his alleged role in the violent July 4th ambush on a Texas ICE facility by a group of armed leftists, according to @TexasDPS1.https://t.co/gJVlQ4vaM2 pic.twitter.com/pJhvfGokSD
— Hudson Crozier
(@Hudson_Crozier) July 15, 2025
(@Hudson_Crozier) Anti-ICE chaos continued in California on July 11, when activist groups cheered on protesters who were outraged at a raid on a cannabis farm that allegedly put numerous unaccompanied minors to work. One protester appeared to fire shots at federal agents, while a leftist academic was accused of hurling tear gas at them, narrowly missing their heads.
Sounding the alarm about an ongoing trend, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported on July 15 that there had been an 830% increase in assaults on ICE officials from Jan. 21 to July 14 since the same period in 2024.
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