The Department of Justice has taken down from its website a study showing white supremacist and far-right violence were by far the most prevalent form of terrorism and domestic extremism in the United States
The study conducted by the National Institute of Justice was hosted on the DOJ website until at least Sept. 12, two days after right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated, as President Donald Trump's administration moves to crack down on political opposition groups, reported 404 Media.
“The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs is currently reviewing its websites and materials in accordance with recent Executive Orders and related guidance,” a message reads on the page where the study had formerly been hosted. “During this review, some pages and publications will be unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
It's not clear why the study was removed shortly after Kirk's murder, which Trump immediately blamed on the "radical left," although what's known about the shooter's political views don't fit neatly into either end of the political spectrum.
“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals,” Trump said in a speech after Kirk’s death. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi has vowed to prosecute anyone accused of spreading "hate speech" against conservatives, in particular, and Vice President JD Vance encouraged supporters to report social media posts by anyone appearing to celebrate Kirk's death so they can face consequences, but the study made clear that politically motivated violence almost always came from the right.
“Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives,” the study says. “In this same period, far-left extremists committed 42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives.”