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Right-wing terrorism,hard right terrorism,extreme right terrorism orfar-right terrorism isterrorism that is motivated by a variety of differentright-wing andfar-right ideologies. It can be motivated byracism,ultraconservatism,ultranationalism,neo-Nazism,anti-communism,neo-fascism,ecofascism,ethnonationalism,religious nationalism,anti-immigration,anti-semitism, anti-government sentiment,patriot movements,sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it can be motivated byopposition to abortion, orhomophobia.[1][2] Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged inWestern Europe in the 1970s, and after theRevolutions of 1989 and thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged inEastern Europe andRussia.[3]
Right-wing terrorists aim to overthrow governments and replace them withright-wing regimes.[1] They believe that their actions will trigger events that will ultimately lead to the establishment of these authoritarian governments.[4] Although they frequently take inspiration fromFascist Italy andNazi Germany with some exceptions, right-wing terrorist groups frequently lack a rigidideology.[5] Right-wing terrorists tend to target people who they consider members of foreign communities, but they may also target political opponents, such asleft-wing groups and individuals. The attacks which are perpetrated by right-wing terrorists are not indiscriminate attacks which are perpetrated by individuals and groups which simply seek to kill people; the targets of these attacks are carefully chosen. Because the targets of these attacks are often entire sections of communities, they are not targeted as individuals, instead, they are targeted because they are representatives of groups which are considered foreign, inferior and threatening by them.[6][7]
According to an analysis by theInstitute for Economics and Peace, there has beena surge in far-right terror incidents since 2010, with a 320% increase between 2014 and 2018.[2]
German economistArmin Falket al. wrote in a 2011 article that Right-Wing Extremist Crime (REC), which includesanti-foreigner andracist motivations, is associated with unemployment rates; as unemployment rates increase, REC also increases.[8] A 2014 paper argues that right-wing terrorism increases with economic growth, seemingly due to its proponents often being people who lose out under economic modernisation.[9] Conversely, a 2019 study found that economic predictors did not predict right-wing terrorism in Europe, rather, levels of extra-European immigration did; right-wing terrorists did not want immigrants in their countries and they sought to drive them out with force. Thus, increased migration caused greater resentment and thus, their greater resentment was a greater motive for their attacks.[10]
In 2016, Thomas Greven suggested thatright-wing populism is a cause of right-wing terrorism. More simply put,populism supports the advancement of "the average citizen", not the agendas of the privileged elite. Greven defines right-wing populists as those who supportethnocentrism, andoppose immigration. Because right-wing populism creates a climate of "us versus them", terrorism is more likely to occur.[11] Vocal opposition toIslamic terrorism byDonald Trump has been obscuring right-wing terrorism in the US,[12][13] where right-wing terror attacks outnumber Islamist, left-wing, andrefugee attacks combined in America.[14] Studies have also proven that radicalizedalt-right male native-born attacks outnumber attacks by both documented and undocumented immigrants combined.[citation needed]
In the wake of theChristchurch mosque shootings at theAl Noor Mosque andLinwood Islamic Centre inChristchurch, New Zealand, by terrorist Brenton Harrison Tarrant, expert in terrorism Greg Barton, ofDeakin University inAustralia (the home country of Tarrant), wrote of the "toxic political environment that allows hate to flourish". Saying that although right-wing extremism in Australia is not nearly as serious as the European neo-Nazi movements or the various types of white supremacy and toxic nationalism seen in American politics, both major parties attempted to win votes by repeating some of the tough language and inhumane policies which appeared to reward right-wing populists. He further argued: "The result has been such a cacophony of hateful rhetoric that it has been hard for those tasked with spotting the emergence of violent extremism to separate it from all the background noise of extremism".[15]
According to Moghadam and Eubank (2006), groups which are associated with right-wing terrorism includewhite power skinhead gangs,far-righthooligans, and their sympathizers. The "intellectual guides" of right-wing terrorist movements espouse the view that the state must "rid itself of the foreign elements that undermine it from within" so the state can "provide for its rightful, natural citizens."[16]
InAustralia, experts, police and others have been commenting on the failure of the authorities to act effectively in order to combat right-wing radicalisation,[17][18] and the government has vowed to put right-wing extremist individuals and groups under greater scrutiny and pressure, with the home affairs secretaryMike Pezzullo making strong comments to a parliamentary committee.[19] A week after theChristchurch mosque shootings inChristchurch, New Zealand, it emerged that three years earlier, Australian-born Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the perpetrator of the shootings, had been active on theFacebook pages of two Australian-basedwhite nationalist groups, theUnited Patriots Front (UPF) andTrue Blue Crew (TBC) and praised the UPF's leaderneo-Nazi Blair Cottrell as they all celebratedDonald Trump's victory in the2016 presidential election in the United States. Tarrant was also offered but declined a membership in theLads Society, a white nationalist fight club which was founded by Cottrell.[20][21]
In theUnited States, Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism atCalifornia State University, San Bernardino and formerNYPD officer, wrote of the growth ofwhite nationalism by saying that the political climate of polarization "has provided an opportunity for violent bigots, both on- and offline. Times of change, fear and conflict offer extremists and conspiracists a chance to present themselves as an alternative to increasingly distrusted traditional mainstream choices." He quotes former FBI agent Erroll Southers' view that white supremacy "is being globalized at a very rapid pace", and he urged the government to hold hearings to investigate homegrown extremism.[22] Sociologists at theUniversity of Dayton pointed to the origin of white nationalism in the US and its spread to other countries, and they also noted that the Christchurch attacker's hatred of Muslims was inspired by American white nationalism.[23]
TheAnti-Defamation League reports thatwhite supremacist propaganda and recruitment efforts both on and around college campuses have been increasing sharply, with 1,187 incidents in 2018 compared to 421 incidents in 2017, far exceeding any previous year.[24] Far-right terrorists rely on a variety of strategies such as leafleting, the performance of violent rituals, and house parties in order to recruit, mostly targeting angry and marginalized youth who are looking for solutions to their problems. But their most effective recruitment tool is extremist music, which avoids monitoring by moderating parties such as parents and school authorities. Some risk factors which are facilitating recruitment include exposure to racism during childhood, dysfunctional families such asdivorced parents, neglect, and physical, emotional andsexual abuse.[25]
In the cases of far-right extremists, they will sometimes seek inspiration from othermass murderers and use it as a template to carry out future terrorist attacks. A notable case of this is Brenton Harrison Tarrant, the Australian-born perpetrator of theChristchurch mosque shootings that killed 51 and injured 49; he cited several earlier far-right attackers, includingAnders Behring Breivik, who carried out the2011 Norway attacks; andDylann Roof, who killed nine black people in theCharleston church shooting.[26][27][28] Tarrant has directly inspired at least six other shootings.[29]
John T. Earnest, the perpetrator ofan arson attack on amosque inEscondido, California, anda mass shooting in a synagogue in nearbyPoway, wrote an open letter in which he stated that he was inspired by Tarrant and Robert Bowers, the perpetrator of thePittsburgh synagogue shooting. Following the Escondido arson attack, he had left graffiti that read "For Brenton Tarrant, -t/pol/", and prior to the synagogue shooting, he published the said open letter on8chan and attempted to livestream the attack on Facebook Live, just like Tarrant. In the open letter, Earnest also mentioned "The Day of the Rope", a talking point in white nationalist and neo-Nazi circles which refers to the execution of all non-whites, Jews, andliberals, as it is detailed in the 1978 novelThe Turner Diaries.[30]
Patrick Crusius, the 21-year-old suspect in themass shooting at aWalmart store inEl Paso, Texas, on August 3, 2019, which killed 23 people and injured 23 others (almost all of whom wereHispanic Americans andMexicans), wrote an online manifesto titledThe Inconvenient Truth; in it, he stated that he supported Tarrant and his manifesto. Just like Tarrant, Crusius posted his manifesto on 8chan, as well as a Collin College notification letter.[31]
Social media platforms have been one of the principal means by which right-wing extremist ideas and hate speech have been shared and promulgated, leading to extensive debate about the limits of free speech and its impact on terrorist action and hate crimes.[32] In 2018, researchers in the US identified the YouTuberecommendation system as promoting a range of political positions from mainstream libertarianism and conservatism to overt white nationalism.[33][34] Many other online discussion groups and forums are used for online right-wing radicalization.[35][36][37] Robert Bowers the perpetrator of thePittsburgh synagogue shooting atTree of Life - Or L'Simcha Congregation inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a regularverified user onGab, a "free speech" alternative to Twitter, and spreadantisemitic, neo-Nazi, and Holocaust denial propaganda as well as interacted with and/or reposted at least five alt-right figures: Brad "Hunter Wallace" Griffin ofOccidental Dissent andLeague of the South (LS), Daniel "Jack Corbin" McMahon, a self-described "Antifa Hunter" and "fascist", formerCalifornia Republican Patrick Little, Jared Wyand of Project Purge and Daniel "Grandpa Lampshade" Kenneth Jeffreys ofThe Daily Stormer andRadio Aryan.[38][39][40] Twitter was found to be offering advertisements targeted to 168,000 users in awhite genocide conspiracy theory category, which they removed shortly after being contacted by journalists in the wake of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.[41] After a Brooklyn synagogue was vandalized with death threats, the term "Kill all Jews" was listed as a trending topic on Twitter.[42]
Australian-born terroristBrenton Harrison Tarrant the perpetrator of theChristchurch mosque shootings atAl Noor Mosque andLinwood Islamic Centre inChristchurch, New Zealand, recorded a video of the attacks onFacebook Live which was shared extensively on social media as well as spreading his manifestoThe Great Replacement on his Facebook and Twitter accounts and on8chan /pol/ where he would announce the attacks and prior to this his social media was filled with white nationalist, anti-Islamic and neo-fascist material and his profile picture was "The Australian Shitposter" an image of a tanned, blonde-haired Akubra hat wearing man from Australia used to represent users on 4chan and 8chan as well as the alt-right subculture "The Dingoes".[43][44][45][46] The government of New Zealand already had laws in place relating to terrorism under which people sharing the video can be prosecuted, and it was announced that this would be vigorously pursued. Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern also vowed to investigate the role played by social media in the attack and take action, possibly alongside other countries, against the sites that broadcast the video.[32]
Facebook andTwitter became more active in banning extremists from their platform in the wake of the tragedy. Facebook pages associated with Future Now Australia had been removed from the platform, including their main page, Stop the Mosques and Save Australia.[47]Far-right activist leaders in Australia urged their supporters to follow them onGab after being banned from Twitter and Facebook.[48] On March 28, 2019, Facebook announced that they have banned white nationalist and white separatist content along with white supremacy.[49]Patrick Crusius the man responsible for the2019 El Paso shooting which killed 23 people and injured 23 others had prior to the incident liked/posted/retweeted content on his Twitter account in support ofDonald Trump.[50]
Owen Jones wrote inThe Guardian about how the press inBritain can play a role in helping to radicalise far-right terrorists, quotingNeil Basu, Britain's counter-terrorism chief. Basu cited theDaily Mail andDaily Mirror as particular culprits, while Jones also give examples fromThe Times,The Telegraph,The Spectator and others, with articles bemoaning so-calledCultural Marxism and misleading headlines such as "1 in 5 Brit Muslims" sympathizing withjihadists (The Sun).[51]
In 1993,Chris Hani, the General Secretary of theSouth African Communist Party was murdered by Polish-born far-right anti-CommunistJanusz Waluś who had been lent a firearm by far-right pro-Apartheid MPClive Derby-Lewis.
TheAfrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, a neo-Nazi paramilitary organisation, has often been described as being a terrorist organization.
In 2010, South African authorities foiled a plot by far-right terrorists to commit attacks as revenge for the murder ofEugène Terre'Blanche, seizing explosives and firearms.[52]
TheArgentine Patriotic League (Liga Patriótica Argentina) was aNacionalistaparamilitary group, founded inBuenos Aires on January 16, 1919, during theTragic week. It was merged into theArgentine Civic Legion in 1931.[59]
TheArgentine Anticommunist Alliance (Spanish:Alianza Anticomunista Argentina, usually known as the Triple A or the AAA) was afar-rightdeath squad which was founded inArgentina in 1973 and was active duringIsabel Perón's rule (1974–1976).
During the rule ofBrazil's military regime, some right-wing military organizations engaged in violent repression. TheRiocentro 1981 May Day Attack was a bombing attempt that happened on the night of April 30, 1981. Severe casualties were suffered by the terrorists. While an NGO held a fundraiser fighting for democracy and free elections and celebrating the upcoming holiday, a bomb exploded at Riocentro parking area killing army sergeant Guilherme Pereira do Rosário and severely wounding captain Wilson Dias Machado, who survived the bomb explosion. The bomb exploded inside a car where both were preparing it. Rosário died instantaneously. They were the only casualties.
ThePara-SAR example[60][61] was revealed byBrazilian Air Force captain Sérgio Ribeiro Miranda de Carvalho in 1968 before it reached the execution phase as it was made public to the press after a meeting with his superior Brigadier General João Paulo Burnier and chief of Para-SAR unity. Burnier discussed a secret plan to bomb a dense traffic area ofRio de Janeiro known as "Gasômetro" during commute and later claim that Communists were the perpetrators. He expected to be able to run a witch-hunt against the growing political military opposition. Burnier also mentioned his intentions on making the Para-SAR, a Brazilian Air Force rescue unity, a tool for eliminating some military regime political oppositors throwing them to the sea at a wide distance of the coast. On both of these events, no military involved on these actions or planning was arrested, charged or faced retaliation from the Brazilian military dictatorship. The only exception is captain Sérgio de Carvalho which had to leave the air force for facing his superiors retaliation after whistleblowing brigadier Burnier's plan.
On November 25, 2022,shootings took place at two schools inAracruz, Espírito Santo. Four people died, and 12 others were injured. The suspect, a 16-year-old former student at one of the schools, was arrested approximately four hours later.[62][63][64] He was reportedly active in onlineneo-Nazi communities that promotedaccelerationism[65][66] and wore attire during the attacks that strongly resembled uniforms worn by members of theterrorist organizationAtomwaffen Division.[67]
Colombian paramilitary groups were responsible for most of the human rights violations in the latter half of the ongoingColombian conflict.[68] According to several international human rights and governmental organizations, right-wing paramilitary groups were responsible for at least 70 to 80% of political murders in Colombia per year during the 1980s and 1990s.[68][69] The first paramilitary groups were organized by the Colombian government following recommendations made by U.S. military counterinsurgency advisers who were sent to Colombia in the early 1960s, during theCold War, to combat leftist political activists and armed guerrilla groups.[70][71][72]
These groups were financed and protected by elite landowners, drug traffickers, members of the security forces, right-wing politicians and multinational corporations.[73][74][75][76] Paramilitary violence and terrorism has principally been targeted towards peasants, unionists, indigenous people, human rights workers, teachers and left-wing political activists or their supporters.[77][78][79][80]
TheContras were a right-wing militant group, backed by theUnited States, that fought against theSandinista National Liberation Front inNicaragua. They were responsible for numeroushuman rights violations and carried out over 1300 terrorist attacks.[81][82]
Cumulatively over five decades, right-wing perpetrators in the US killed substantially more people than left-wing or Islamist-inspired perpetrators.[83] In almost all individual years since 1990, right-wing ideologically motivated homicides in the US have substantially outnumbered those perpetrated by left-wing actors.[84]
Scholars label acts of terrorism which were committed againstAfrican Americans during theReconstruction era "white terrorism".[85][86]
According to American political scientistGeorge Michael, "right-wing terrorism and violence has a long history in America".[87] In the aftermath of theBrown v. Board of Education decision (1954), members of a resurgentKu Klux Klan waged a campaign of terrorism against black people,civil rights activists,Jews, and others.[88] Klansmenbombed the 16th Street Baptist Church inBirmingham, Alabama, in 1963, killing fourAfrican American girls and injuring 14–22 others, and they also committed other murders, including those ofJames Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner (1964),Lemuel Penn (1964),Viola Liuzzo (1965), andMichael Donald.[88][89] Between 1956 and 1963, an estimated 130 bombings were perpetrated in the South.[88]
During the 1980s, more than 75 right-wing extremists were prosecuted for acts of terrorism in the United States, they carried out six attacks.[90] In 1983,Gordon Kahl, aPosse Comitatus activist, killed two federal marshals and he was later killed by police. Also that year, thewhite nationalistrevolutionary groupThe Order (also known as the Brüder Schweigen or the Silent Brotherhood) robbed banks and armored cars, as well as asex shop,[91] bombed a theater and asynagogue and murdered radio talk show hostAlan Berg.[92][93]
On April 19, 1995,Gulf Warveteran andanti-government extremistTimothy McVeigh detonated anammonium nitrate bomb out of aRyder rental truck next to theAlfred P. Murrah Federal Building inOklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring 680. It was the deadliest act ofdomestic terrorism in the history of the United States.[94] McVeigh stated that it was committed in retaliation for the government's actions atRuby Ridge andWaco.[95]Terry Nichols, a friend of McVeigh, conspired in the plot to construct the bomb.
Eric Rudolph executed a series of terrorist attacks between 1996 and 1998. He carried out the 1996Centennial Olympic Park bombing – which claimed two lives and injured 111 – aiming to cancel the games, claiming they promoted global socialism and to embarrass the U.S. government.[96] Rudolph confessed to bombing an abortion clinic in Sandy Springs, an Atlanta suburb, on January 16, 1997, the Otherside Lounge, an Atlanta lesbian bar, on February 21, 1997, injuring five and anabortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama on January 29, 1998, killing Birmingham police officer and part-time clinic security guard Robert Sanderson and critically injuring nurseEmily Lyons. He was linked an extreme right-wing group.[97]
TheJewish Defense League is aJewish religious-political organization in the United States, its stated goal is to "protect Jews fromantisemitism bywhatever means necessary".[98] TheFBI has classified it as "a right wing terrorist group" since 2001,[99] and it has been designated as ahate group by theSouthern Poverty Law Center.[100] According to the FBI, the JDL has been involved in plotting and executing acts of terrorism within the United States.[99][101] As of 2015, most terrorism watch groups classified the group as inactive.[102]
According to a report published by theCenter for Strategic and International Studies, as of 2020, right-wing terrorism accounted for the majority of terrorist attacks and plots in the United States.[103] As of June 2023, theNew America Foundation placed the number killed in terrorist attacks in the United States since theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks (9/11) as follows: 130 killed in far-right attacks, 107 killed in jihadist attacks, 17 killed in"ideological misogyny/incel" attacks, 12 killed inblack separatist/nationalist/supremacist attacks, and 1 killed in afar-left attack.[104]
According to a 2017Government Accountability Office report, 73% of violent extremist incidents that resulted in deaths since 9/11, were caused by right-wing extremist groups, while radicalIslamist extremists were responsible for 27%. The total number of deaths which were caused by each group was about the same, but 41% of the deaths which were attributable to radical Islamists occurred in a single event – the 2016Orlando nightclub shooting in which 49 people were killed by a lone gunman. No deaths were attributed toleft-wing terrorist groups.[105][106]
In October 2020, theU.S. Department of Homeland Security reported thatwhite supremacists posed the topdomestic terrorism threat, which FBI directorChristopher Wray confirmed in March 2021, noting that the bureau had elevated the threat to the same level as the threat which was posed byISIS.[107][108][109][110]
A 2019 report stated that 50 people in the United States were killed in murders which were committed by domestic extremists (the murders included ideologically and non-ideologically motivated homicides) during the previous year. Of these killings, 78% of them were perpetrated by white supremacists, 16% of them were perpetrated by anti-government extremists, 4% of them were perpetrated by "incel" extremists, and 2% of them were perpetrated by domestic Islamist extremists.[111] Over the broader 2009 to 2018 time period, a total of 313 people were killed by right-wing extremists in the United States (the crimes included ideologically and non-ideologically motivated homicides), of those homicides, 76% of them were committed by white supremacists, 19% of them were committed by anti-government extremists (including those extremists who were affiliated with themilitia, "sovereign citizen",tax protester, and"Patriot" movements), 3% of them were committed by "incel" extremists, 1% of them were committed byanti-abortion extremists, and 1% of them were committed by other right-wing extremists.[111]
Soon after theassassination of Charlie Kirk, U.S. President Trump claimed that "the radicals on the left are the problem" with political violence.[112] Opinion editors,[113] as well as both far-right commentators[114] and Trump critics,[115] have compared Charlie Kirk's killing to theReichstag fire—the 1933 arson of theGerman parliament building that Hitler used as apretext to suspend civil liberties and prosecute political opposition[115]—some calling Kirk's killing Trump's "Reichstag fire moment".[113]How Democracies Die author, professorSteven Levitsky, said that exploiting Charlie Kirk's killing to justify unleashing attacks on critics is "page one of theauthoritarian playbook".[116]
As of 2023, according to New America's tally, 133 people have been killed in right-wing extremist terrorist attacks since 9/11. The incidents which caused deaths were the following:[104]
A report inThe Washington Post, published on November 25, 2018, showed violent right-wing-related incidents up, and left-wing-related incidents down. Total domestic terrorism incidents was down to 41 in 2001, from a high of 468 in 1970, but then went up to 65 in 2017. Of those 65 events in 2017, 36 were right-wing-related (with 11 fatalities), 10 were left-wing-related (with 6 fatalities), 7 were related to Islamist extremism (with 16 fatalities), and 12, including the2017 Las Vegas shooting, were categorized as "Other/Unknown" (with 62 fatalities, including 58 from the Las Vegas incident at the time). The report found that 2018 was a particularly deadly year, with 11 people dying in thePittsburgh synagogue shooting, 2 others in an incident in Kentucky, and two more in ashooting in Tallahassee. All three incidents were right-wing related.[119]
ThePost reported that the upsurge in right-wing violence began during theBarack Obama administration and picked up steam under the presidency ofDonald Trump, whose remarks after theUnite the Right rally inCharlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 that there were "some very fine people on both sides" is widely seen as giving confidence to the right that the administration looked favorably on their goals, providing them with "tacit support". A former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence, is quoted as saying that "[political leaders] from the White House down, used to serve as a check on conduct and speech that was abhorrent to most people. I see that eroding. ... The current political rhetoric is at least enabling, and certainly not discouraging, violence."[119]
According to analysis by the newspaper of data from theGlobal Terrorism Database, 92 of 263 domestic terrorism events – 35% – that occurred from 2010 to 2017 were right-wing related, while 38 (14%) were Islamist extremist-related, and 34 (13%) were left-wing related. Not only that, but a criminologist fromJohn Jay College stated that right-wing attacks were statistically more likely to result in fatalities.[119]
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On January 6, 2021, a mob ofrioters supporting President Trump'sattempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election,stormed the U.S. Capitol during speeches made by Trump and his allies at a rally. After breaching multiple police perimeters, they damaged and occupied parts of the building for several hours.National Guard units from several states were called up to deal with the violence, while the riots resulted in six deaths (four rioters and two police officers), over 80 arrests, and 116 officers being injured. Several high-profile members of the government and Capitol security resigned, including the chief of theCapitol Police, the Sergeant-at-Arms of both theHouse of Representatives and theSenate. Over 70 other countries and international organizations expressed their concerns over the protests and condemned the violence. One group involved, theProud Boys, was designated a terrorist organization inCanada.[120][121][122][123] Since then, at least two dozen Proud Boys members and affiliates have been indicted for their alleged roles in the insurrection.[124][125][126]
During congressional testimony two months after the Capitol assault, FBI directorChristopher Wray characterized the incident as "domestic terrorism". Although he did not attribute the assault to a specific group, he made clear that the evidence showed a connection to right-wing extremism, particularly militia groups. When asked if "right-wing white supremacist groups played an instrumental role," Wray explained that the FBI did not use labels about political positioning, but agreed "we're basically saying the same thing."[127][128] Wray testified that the top threat of domestic violent extremists were "specifically those who advocate for the superiority of the white race," alongside the threat posed byISIL.[129] Despite efforts by many conservatives, including during the congressional hearing, to blameantifa for the attack, Wray reiterated that the FBI had found no evidence to support the allegations. A February 2021 poll found that 58% of Republicans believe the Capitol riot was "mostly an antifa-inspired attack that only involved a few Trump supporters."[130][131]
Westland New Post was an underground neo-Nazi terror group in the 1980s.[132] They are suspected to be linked to theBrabant killings over four years killing 28 people.[133]
According toPrime Minister of Croatia at the time,Andrej Plenković,2020 Zagreb shooting was motivated by the ruling partyCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ)'s coalition with the largestSerb party in the country,Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS).[citation needed]
Neo-Nazis were suspected to have perpetrated the1992 Copenhagen bombing, in which the office of a left-wing socialist party was attacked, killing one of its members.[134]
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In the 1920s–1940s, far-right and fascist groups attacked left-wing events and politicians systematically, resulting in deaths. The groups were responsible for bombing and burning down gathering places of the leftists. Minister of the InteriorHeikki Ritavuori was assassinated for supposedly being too lenient towards communists.[135][136] Conservative andWhite Guard authorities supported the far-right to a large extent, for instance the social democrat politicianOnni Happonen was arrested by police who then turned him over to a fascist lynch mob to be killed.[137]
In 1945, after the armistice with the Soviet Union, nationalist groups bombed multiple left-wing targets in Helsinki. Attacks inHaaga andVallila against left-wing papers and meeting halls followed.[138] A group identifying themselves as "fascists fromMunkkiniemi" used dynamite and IEDs built from anti-aircraft shells to blow up the headquarters ofVapaa Sana newspaper.[139]
During the Cold War, far-right activism was limited to small illegal groups like theclandestine Nazi occultist group led byPekka Siitoin who made headlines afterarson and bombing of the printing houses of theCommunist Party of Finland. His associates also sentletter bombs to leftists, including to the headquarters of theFinnish Democratic Youth League.[140] Another group called the "New Patriotic People's Movement" bombed the left-wingKansan Uutiset newspaper and the embassy of communist Bulgaria.[141][142][143] Member of theNordic Realm Party Seppo Seluska was convicted of the torture and murder of a gayJew.[144][145][146]
In 1975 inPetäjävesi an election campaign event of the communistSKDL was bombed by self-declared neo-fascists. There were no deaths although the bomb caused material damages.[147] In November 1978, the office of the Southern Saimaa Union of Socialist Youth was destroyed in an arson attack. The perpetrators left behind a swastika painted on the wall.[148]
In1986 Oulu airplane hijacking [fi], neo-Nazis hijacked an airliner inOulu Airport, demanding 60,000 marks for a neo-Nazi party they were affiliated with.
The skinhead culture gained momentum during the late 1980s and peaked during the late 1990s. In 1991, Finland received a number of Somali immigrants who became the main target of Finnish skinhead violence in the following years, including four attacks using explosives and a racist murder. Asylum seeker centres were attacked, inJoensuu skinheads would force their way into an asylum seeker centre and start shooting with shotguns. At worst Somalis were assaulted by 50 skinheads at the same time.[149][150]
The most prominent neo-Nazi groupNordic Resistance Movement that is tied to multiple murders, attempted murders and assaults of political enemies was found in 2006 and proscribed in 2019.[151] During theEuropean migrant crisis 40 asylum seeker reception centres were targets of arson attacks.[152][153] In its annual threat assessment for 2020, theNational Bureau of Investigation found that despite the ban, the threat of far-right terrorism had risen and identified 400 persons of interest "motivated and with the capacity to perform terrorism in Finland". International links and funding networks were pointed out as a special source of concern.[154]
On 4 December 2021, the Finnish police arrested afive-man cell in Kankaanpää on suspicion of planning a terror attack and confiscated numerous firearms including assault rifles and forty kilos of explosives and hundreds of litres of explosive precursors. According to the Finnish media the men adhered to the ideology ofAtomwaffen andJames Mason and used Atomwaffen-like symbols.[155][156][157]
In July 2022, a group of youth stole all the rainbow flags from a library inLapua and left an improvised explosive device behind. There were no casualties but a gay pride event was interrupted by the explosion.[158] On 26 August 2022 a bomb exploded near a pride inSavonlinna, the police has arrested two locals for the act.[159] In July 2023 the Finnish police arrested five men inLahti who possessed assault rifles and adhered to accelerationism andSiege and planned to ignite a race war by attacking the infrastructure, electric grid and railroads.[160] A man affiliated with the Lahti group is also suspected of plotting a ritual murder and sending a string of letter bombs sent to Social Democrat, Green and Left party offices.[161]
In mid-June 2024, there was a series of racist stabbings inOulu. One of the perpetrators was on the terror watchlist for connections to the outlawed terror groupNordic Resistance Movement.[162][163] Another perpetrator was a supporter of the NRM as well. The third attacker was unaffiliated. The three men stabbed several people with a perceived immigrant background, causing life-threatening injuries.[164][165]
France has a modern history of right-wing terrorism that dates back to the middle of the 20th century. Historically, right-wing terrorism was tied to rage over the loss of France's colonial possessions in Africa, particularlyAlgeria. In 1961, theOrganisation armée secrète or OAS, a right-wing terrorist group that protested Algerian independence from France, launched a bomb attack on board aStrasbourg–Paris train which killed 28 people.[166]
On 14 December 1973, the far-rightCharles Martel Group orchestrated a bomb attack at the Consulate of Algeria, killing 4 people and injuring 20.[167] The group targeted mostly Algerian targets several more times.
In the town ofToulon, a far-right extremist group called SOS-France existed. On 18 August 1986, four members were driving a car carrying explosives, apparently in an attempt to bomb the offices ofSOS Racisme. However it exploded while they were still in it, killing all four of them.[168]
In more recent history, far-right extremism in France has been fueled by the rise of anti-immigrant far-right political movements. Neo-Nazi members of theFrench and European Nationalist Party were responsible for a pair ofanti-immigrant terror bombings in 1988. Sonacotra hostels inCagnes-sur-Mer and Cannes were bombed, killing Romanian immigrant George Iordachescu and injuring 16 people, mostly Tunisians. In an attempt toframe Jewish extremists for the Cagnes-sur-Mer bombing, the terrorists left leaflets bearingStars of David and the nameMasada at the scene, with the message "To destroyIsrael, Islam has chosen the sword. For this choice, Islam will perish."[169]
On 28 May 2008, members of the neo-Nazi Nomad 88 group fired with machine guns at people from their car inSaint-Michel-sur-Orge.[170][171]
In the aftermath of theCharlie Hebdo shooting, six mosques and a restaurant were attacked in acts deemed as right-wing terrorism by authorities.[172] The acts included grenade throwing, shooting, and use of animprovised explosive device.
In 1980, a right-wing terrorist attack, known asOktoberfest bombing inMunich, Germany, killed 13 people, including the attacker, and injured 215. Fears of an ongoing campaign of major right-wing terrorist attacks did not materialize.[1]
In 1993, fourneo-Nazi skinheadscommitted arson against the house of aTurkish German family inSolingen, Germany, resulting in the death of 5 female Turks and the injury of 14 others, including several children.
On 14 June 2000, the neo-Nazi Michael Berger killed three policemen inDortmund andWaltrop.
In addition to several bank robberies, theNationalsozialitscher Untergrund/National Socialist Underground (NSU) was responsible for theBosphorus serial murders (2000–2006), the2004 Cologne bombing and the murder of policewomanMichéle Kiesewetter in 2007 leaving at least 10 people dead and others injured. In November 2011, two members of the National Socialist Underground committed suicide after a bank robbery and a third member was arrested some days later.[citation needed]
Right-wing extremist offenses in Germany rose sharply in 2015 and 2016.[173] Figures from the German government tallied 316 violent xenophobic offences in 2014 and 612 such offenses in 2015.[173]
In August 2014, a group of four Germans founded a Munich-based far-right terrorist group, the Oldschool Society. The group, which held racist, antisemitic, and anti-Muslim views, eventually attracted 30 members.[174] They stockpiled weapons and explosives and plotted to attack a refugee shelter inSaxony,[174] but the group's leaders were arrested in May 2015 before carrying out the attack.[175] In March 2017 four of the group's leaders were sentenced to prison terms.[174]
The perpetrator of amass shooting in Munich in 2016 had far-right views.[176]
According to figures which were released by the interior ministry in May 2019, of an estimated 24,000 far-right extremists in the country, 12,700 Germans are inclined towards violence. Extremists belonging toDer Dritte Weg/The III. Path marched in through a town in Saxony on 1 May, the day before theJewish remembrance of theHolocaust, carrying flags and a banner saying "Social justice instead of criminal foreigners".[177]
Walter Lübcke, aChristian Democratic Union (CDU) politician fromHesse was assassinated at his home via gunshot because of his pro-migrant views by Stephan Ernst, a German Neo-Nazi who was a member of the British neo-Nazi terrorist groupCombat 18 (C18) and theNational Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) who had engaged in a series of anti-migrant crimes and had been convicted for knife and bomb attacks against minorities.[178] Following the murder, the self-described"doomsday prepper" groupNordkreuz (German: Northern Cross) was discovered to have made kill lists of politicians and acquired body bags for a hypothetical "Day X" doomsday scenario; using the messaging appTelegram and a police database with 25,000 names, the group amassed firearms and ammunition.[179][180]
On 9 October 2019,a mass shooting broke out near a synagogue and kebab stand inHalle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, resulting in two dead and two others injured. The perpetrator Stephan Balliet committed the attack out of antisemitic,antifeminist and racist beliefs which he live-streamed the attack onTwitch for 35 minutes.
On 19 February 2020,two mass shootings occurred at twoshisha bars inHanau, resulting in the death of nine people, all with an immigrant background. The attacker then killed his mother at their house and committed suicide. The 43-year-old attacker was identified as afar-right extremist, who expressed a hatred for immigrants.[181]
In February 2020, following the observation of a meeting of a dozen right-wing extremists, those involved were arrested after they had decided to launch attacks onmosques in Germany to trigger a civil war.[182][183]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Italy endured theYears of Lead, a period characterized by frequent terrorist attacks: between 1969 and 1982, the nation suffered 8,800 terrorist attacks, in which a total of 351 people were killed and 768 were injured.[184] The terrorist attacks have been both ascribed both to the far-left and the far-right, yet many of the terrorist attacks remain without a clear culprit; many have claimed that responsibility for the attacks could be ascribed to rogue members of the Italian secret service. Some of the terrorist attacks ascribed to a particular political group may have actually been the work of these rogue agents: this has been claimed, among many others, byFrancesco Cossiga,[185] who was the Prime Minister during the last years of lead, and byGiulio Andreotti,[186] who, during the same period of time, held the office of Prime Minister more than once.
TheYears of Lead are considered to have begun with thePiazza Fontana bombing inMilan in December 1969,[184] perpetrated byOrdine Nuovo, a right-wingneofascist group.[187] Sixteen people were killed, and 90 injured, in the bombing.[187]
In July 1970, this same group carried out a bombing on a train traveling from Rome to Messina, killing six and wounding almost 100. The group also carried out thePiazza della Loggia bombing in 1974, killing eight antifascist activists.[187] Perhaps the most infamous right-wing terrorist attack in post-war Italy is theAugust 1980 Bologna bombing, in which neo-fascistNuclei Armati Rivoluzionari ("Armed Revolutionary Nuclei"), an Ordine Nuovo offshoot, killed 85 people and injured 200 at theBologna railroad station.[187][188]Valerio Fioravanti,Francesca Mambro, and two others were convicted of mass murder in the attacks,[188] although both have always denied any connection with them.[189][190]
In December 2011, Gianluca Casseri targeted Senegalese peddlers inFlorence,killing two and injuring three others before killing himself.[191][192] The perpetrator was a sympathizer ofCasaPound,[191][192] a neo-fascist party that Italian judges have recognized as not posing a threat to public or private safety.[193]
In February 2018, neo-NaziLega Nord member Luca Trainishot and injured six African migrants in the town ofMacerata.
On the night of 5 June 1997, members of the far-rightPērkonkrusts unsuccessfully bombed theMonument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders. Two of them were killed in the explosion,[194] while six others, includingIgors Šiškins, were sentenced for up to three years in prison in 2000.[195] The group ceased organised activities or was banned around 2006.[196]
In late 2018, the State Security Service arrested a self-proclaimed follower of the ideas ofAnders Behring Breivik who was planning to perform terrorist attacks on anethnic minority school and several commercial outlets inJūrmala on 13 February, the birthday of Breivik. The individual had previously published comments on different websites for an extended period of time aimed against the Roma and Russian people, including calls to exterminate them. He was found guilty but exempted fromcriminal liability on medical grounds and assigned to apsychiatric hospital for treatment.[197]
On 22 July 2011, Norwegian right-wing extremist with neo-Nazi[198][199] and fascist[200] sympathiesAnders Behring Breivik carried out the2011 Norway attacks, the deadliest attack inNorway sinceWorld War II. First, he bombed several government buildings inOslo, killing eight people and injuring more than 200. After the bombings, he went toUtøya island in a fake police uniform and began firing on people attending a political youth camp for theWorker's Youth League (AUF), a left-wing political party, killing 69 and injuring more than 110. Overall, the two terrorist attacks in Utøya and Oslo, Norway resulted in 77 dead and 319 injured. Anders Behring Breivik also had written a manifesto2083: A European Declaration of Independence in which he accusedIslam,Cultural Marxism,multiculturalism, andfeminism of causing a "cultural suicide" of Europe and claimed to belong to an organization called the Knights' Templar (named afterthe medieval military order).
Philip Manshaus was arrested forattacking Al-Noor Islamic Centre in Baerum, on the outskirts of Oslo, on August 10,2019. According to police, the man appeared to hold "far-right" and "anti-immigrant" views and had expressed sympathy forVidkun Quisling – the fascist World War II leader of Norway – as well asAustralian-born terroristBrenton Harrison Tarrant, the perpetrator of theChristchurch, New Zealand mosque shootings,John T. Earnest the perpetrator of theEscondido, California mosque fire and thePoway, California synagogue shooting, as well asPatrick Crusius the man behind theEl Paso, Texas Walmart shooting targeting Mexicans. He has been charged with attempted murder in this case and with the murder of his 17-year-old stepsister in an unrelated incident. The mosque shooting is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism.[201]
The Savior was a Russianneo-Nazi militantnationalist organization which claimed credit for the August2006 Moscow market bombing, which killed 13. Media reports indicate that the market, located nearCherkizovsky, was targeted due to its high volume ofCentral Asian andCaucasian clientele.[202][203] Four members of The Saviour were sentenced to life imprisonment, while four others received lesser prison terms.[citation needed] TheRussian Imperial Movement is a Russianultranationalist,white supremacist,[204]far-rightparamilitary organization[205] based inSaint Petersburg. It has been designated as aterrorist group by the United States[58] and Canada.[206]
Russian separatist forces in Donbas include several right-wing militias, connected to the official armed forces of the right-wing breakawayDonetsk People's Republic andLuhansk People's Republic in easternUkraine, which are designed terrorist organisations by the Ukrainian government. International volunteers for the militias have been arrested for plotting terror attacks.[207]
Far-right terrorist acts surged after the death ofdictatorFrancisco Franco inSpain 1975 and continued until the early 1980s, ranging from assassination of individuals to mass murder.[208][209][210]
Both the2009–10 Malmö shootings and theTrollhättan school stabbing were conducted by right-wing terrorists along with a refugee centre bombing in 2017. A notable serial killer motivated by far-right motives isJohn Ausonius.[211] Far-rightists were also responsible for attacking an anti-racist demonstrationin Stockholm in December 2013.
On October 12, 2022, two people were killed and another was injured after a right-wing terrorist opened fire against an LGBT venue inBratislava.[212]
The neo-fascist ultranationalistGrey Wolves have been involved in terror attacks targeting both left-wing groups and ethnic minorities. The group is notable for its death squads during the political violence of the late 1970s, such as theTaksim Square massacre in 1977 (killings of leftists) or theBahçelievler massacre in 1978 when seven students belonging to asocialist party were assassinated.[213] The organization was responsible forMaraş andÇorum massacres where hundreds of Alevis, Kurds and leftists were killed.
In 1979, Left-wing journalistAbdi İpekçi was assassinated by Grey Wolves memberMehmet Ali Ağca. In 1981 Ağca attempted to assassinatePope John Paul II.
In April 1999, David Copeland, a neo-Nazi, planted aseries of nail bombs over 13 days. His attacks, which were aimed at London'sblack,Bangladeshi andgay communities, resulted in three dead and more than 100 injured.[214] Copeland was a former member of two far-right political groups, theBritish National Party (BNP) and theNational Socialist Movement. Copeland told police, "My aim was political. It was to cause a racial war in this country. There'd be a backlash from the ethnic minorities, then all the white people will go out and vote BNP."[215]
In July 2007, Robert Cottage, a former BNP member, was convicted for possessing explosive chemicals in his home – described by police at the time of his arrest as the largest amount of chemical explosive of its type ever found in that country.[216] In June 2008, Martyn Gilleard, a British Nazi sympathizer, was jailed after police found nail bombs, bullets, swords, axes and knives in his flat.[217] Also in 2008, Nathan Worrell was found guilty of possession of material for terrorist purposes and racially aggravated harassment. The court heard that police found books and manuals containing recipes to make bombs and detonators using household items, such as weedkiller, at Worrell's flat.[218] In July 2009, Neil Lewington was planning a terror campaign using weapons made from tennis balls and weedkiller against those he classified as non-British.[219]
In 2012, the British Home Affairs Committee warned of the threat of far-right terrorism in the UK, claiming it had heard persuasive evidence about the potential danger and cited the growth of similar threats across Europe.[220]
Members ofCombat 18 (C18), aneo-Nazi organisation based on the concept of "leaderless resistance", have been suspected in numerous deaths of immigrants, non-whites and other C18 members.[221] Between 1998 and 2000, dozens of members were arrested.[222][223] A group calling itself theRacial Volunteer Force split from C18 in 2002, retaining close links to its parent organization.[224] Some journalists believed that theWhite Wolves were a C18 splinter group, alleging that the group had been set up by Del O'Connor, the former second-in-command of C18 and member ofSkrewdriver Security.[225] C18 attacks on immigrants continued through 2009.[226] Weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized by police in the UK and almost every country in which C18 was active.
In 2016,Jo Cox, theMember of Parliament (MP) for theBatley and Spen constituencywas murdered by Thomas Mair, who was motivated by neo-Nazi far-right political views and had connections to several far-right organisations in the UK, US, and South Africa such asNational Vanguard andEnglish Defence League (EDL).[227]
On 16 December 2016,Home SecretaryAmber Rudd designatedthe far-right, neo-Nazi groupNational Action (NA) as a terrorist organisation which criminalises membership or support for the organisation.[228] On 12 June 2018,Jack Renshaw, 23, a former spokesperson for NA, admitted in a guilty plea to buying a 48 cm (19 in) replicaRomangladius (often wrongly referred to in the media as amachete) to murderRosie Cooper, theMember of Parliament (MP) for theWest Lancashire constituency.[229]
In June 2017, Darren Osborne drove a van into a crowd leaving amosque in Finsbury Park, north London, killing one and injuring nine others. Darren Osborne had acquired far-right publications fromTommy Robinson's English Defence League (EDL) and Jim Dowson and Jayda Fransen'sBritain First Party (BF).[230][231]
In March 2018,Mark Rowley, the outgoing head of UK counter-terror policing, revealed that four far-right terror plots had been foiled since the Westminster attack in March 2017.[232]
In February 2019, an unnamed 33-year-old was arrested in West Yorkshire "as part of an investigation into suspected extreme right wing activity".[233]
Loyalist paramilitaries such as theUlster Volunteer Force (UVF),Ulster Defence Association (UDA),Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) andOrange Volunteer Force (OVF) have been aligned with far-right politics and ideology and have been involved in numerous sectarian attacks and killings on Catholics both during and afterthe Troubles. During the conflict, British far-right activists supplied funds and weaponry to these groups inNorthern Ireland.[234] Following theGood Friday Agreement, some members ofLoyalist groups orchestrated racist attacks in Northern Ireland,[235][236][237] includingpipe bomb and gun attacks on the homes of immigrants.[238][239][240] As a result, Northern Ireland has a higher proportion of racist attacks than other parts of the UK,[237][241] and was branded the "race-hate capital of Europe".[242]
On 13 May 1981,Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded byMehmet Ali Ağca, a member ofGrey Wolves, aTurkish ultranationalist organization.
In August 2016, Phillip Galea was charged with several terrorist offences. Galea had conducted "surveillance" of "left-wing premises" and planned to carry out bombings. Explosive ingredients were found at his home. Galea had links with organisations such asCombat 18 (C18) and theUnited Patriots Front (UPF).[243] On 5 December 2019, a jury found Galea guilty of planning and preparing a terror attack.[244]
In 2017, theSydney Morning Herald reported on the conviction of neo-Nazi Michael James Holt, 26 who had threatened to carry out a mass shooting attack and consideredWestfield Tuggerah as a target. He had manufactured home-made guns, knuckle dusters and slingshots in his grandfather's garage. Raids on his mother's home and a hotel room discovered more weapons including several firearms, slingshots and knuckle dusters.[245]
TheChristchurch mosque shootings atAl Noor Mosque andLinwood Islamic Centre inChristchurch, New Zealand, which resulted in 51 deaths and injuries to 49 others, were committed by Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who was motivated bywhite nationalism,neo-fascism (primarilyecofascism) andracism. Tarrant published a manifesto titledThe Great Replacement, named aftera French far-right white genocide conspiracy theory of the same name by writerRenaud Camus, and livestreamed the shootings onFacebook Live after announcing them on8chan /pol/ (a centre of neo-Nazi/far-right discussion). The gunman also praised various other far-right mass murderers and killers such asAnders Behring Breivik (Utoya and Oslo attacks,Norway);Dylann Roof (Charleston church shooting,United States);Luca Traini (Macerata shooting,Italy);Anton Lundin Pettersson (Trollhattan school attack,Sweden);Darren Osborne (2017 Finsbury Park attack,United Kingdom);Alexandre Bissonnette (Quebec City mosque shooting,Canada/Quebec); andJosue Estèbanez (Murder of Carlos Palomino,Spain). He also referred to Breivik as "Knight Justiciar Breivik", and claimed to have briefly contacted him and his organisation, the Knights Templar, as well as etching the names of Pettersson, Traini and Bissonnette onto his guns which also contained references to various historical battles and figures, such asCharles Martel and theBattle of Tours, theRotherham child sexual exploitation scandal, the neo-Nazi sloganFourteen Words and "Kebab Remover". Additionally, he expressed support forBritish Union of Fascists (BUF) leaderOswald Mosley and wished to start a Second American Civil War tobalkanize the United States over theGun rights' issue and theSecond Amendment. Prior to the terrorist attacks, the gunman had ties to Australia's prominent far-right organizationsUnited Patriots Front (UPF), led byBlair Cottrell; andTrue Blue Crew (TBC), led by Kane Miller via interactions onFacebook and affectionately called Blair Cottrell "Emperor Blair" as well as an offer to join theLads Society but declined and donated to Gènèration Identitaire (GI) andIdentitäre Bewegung Österreich (IBÖ), theAustria andFrance branches of Generation Identity, anIdentitarian organization, and exchanged emails withMartin Sellner of the latter group between January 2018 and July 2018. One email asked if they could meet up for coffee or beer inVienna; another asked the former to send the latter a link to hisEnglish languageYouTube channel. In August 2020, the gunman was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the attacks, the first such sentence in New Zealand history.
In 1992, the 16th-centuryBabri Masjid in the city ofAyodhya, inUttar Pradesh wasdemolished by the far-right Hindu nationalistVishva Hindu Parishad. The demolition resulted inintercommunal rioting between India'sHindu andMuslim communities, causing the deaths of at least 2,000 people.
A number of right-wingRevisionist Zionist groups have been designated as terrorist organisations.Lehi, known as the Stern Gang, was a Zionist paramilitary and terrorist organization founded inMandatory Palestine in 1940, professingNational Bolshevism and influenced by Italian fascism. It carried out assassinations and alleged massacres until it was disbanded in 1949. TheJewish Underground was a radical right-wing organization[246] considered terrorist by Israel.[247][248] It plotted and carried out car and bus bombings, and attacks on students and on religious sites in the early 1980s until the arrest of its main activists in 1984.Kach and its splinter group Kahane Chai were a right-wingOrthodox Jewish,ultranationalistpolitical party in Israel, formed in 1971 and designated as terrorist from the 1990s byIsrael,[249]Canada,[250] theEuropean Union,[251]Japan,[252] and theUnited States.[253]
SeeFalangist militancy in Lebanon andFascist militancy in Syria and Lebanon.
Notes
It is notable however, that some NRM activists have reasoned that only radical measures will be effective post-ban, thus coming to support e.g. the accelerationist model of activity. Certain members of the group have also appeared as contributors to publications that promote esoteric forms of neo-Nazism. A corresponding shift towards a more "cultic" direction has also been observed in the United Kingdom after the banning of the National Action (NA).
Finally, the Nordic Resistance Movement also has a long history with O9A that predates its ties to Iron March. Haakon Forwald, head of the Norwegian branch from 2010 to 2019, was a devotee of a Scandinavian O9A current variously known as the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, the Temple of Black Light, and Current 218. The magazine of the Finnish branch of the Nordic Resistance Movement featured articles on O9A spiritual practices and on the work of Kerry Bolton of the Black Order.
Today, the Department of State is designating Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.
These radical and extremist propagandas from Terrorgram have real-world effects. In 2022, a 16-year-old Brazilian teenager killed four people in a school attack in Aracruz, Espírito Santo. It was discovered that the teenager had been radicalized through Telegram channels connected to the collective.
Rudolph had associations with theracistfundamentalist groupChristian Identity (an extreme right-wing group).
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)According to the [US Extremist Crime Database], activities of far left wing violent extremist groups did not result in any fatalities during this period.
One particularly severe episode happened in 1997, when a group of about 50 skinheads attacked Somali youths playing football in the Helsinki suburb Kontula. The violence did not stop before the police started shooting warning shots, and 22 skinheads were sentenced for the attack. Pekonen et al. also mention a number of other violent events from the 1990s, including ten particularly severe events from 1995 (not included in the RTV dataset because sufficient event details are lacking): a racist murder, an immigrant stabbed by a skinhead, four attacks on immigrants using explosives, and another four immigrants beaten severely.
Bibliography
Further reading
