In recent years, violent attacks with weapons and other acts of politically charged violence in the US have challenged longstanding frameworks used to identify and categorize extremist and terrorist movements. The dangers those frameworks were designed to address remain pressing, but they are insufficient for explaining newer trends in the threat landscape. ISD’s analysis of violent attacks and foiled attack plots linked to extremism in 2024 identified several trends related to biographical characteristics of suspects and perpetrators, motivations, tactics used, and targets selected. Most strikingly, the data showed that the deadliest incidents recorded were not tied to traditionally defined extremist ideologies. Instead, they were driven by a looser network of online subcultures that ISD refers to as “nihilistic violence.” Communities associated with nihilistic violence might echo the trappings and language of extremist and terrorist ideologies, their tactics and their use of social media. However their primary motivation for violence stems from a fundamental disregard for human life and a desire to see harms done to others. Individuals associated with communities that promote nihilistic worldviews accounted for two-thirds of all deaths and nearly two-thirds of all injuries in attacks and attack plots recorded by ISD in 2024. It is also of note that many perpetrators and suspects in the category were juveniles: historically not a characteristic demographic for extremist violence. Only a third of the recorded incidents were easily attributed to defined ideologies. While traditionally defined extremist movements continue to pose a significant threat to public safety, this analysis reflects an increased need to adjust frameworks and methods designed to counter ideologically motivated threats to account for this changing landscape.
Online radicalization and the nexus to violence in the US: 2024 year in review – ISD
