Domestic terrorism in the United States
the phenomenon and incidents of American domestic terrorism
In the United States, domestic terrorism is defined as terrorist acts that were carried out within the United States by U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents. As of 2024, the United States government considers white supremacists to be the top domestic terrorism threat.
Definition
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines domestic terrorism as violent, criminal acts which are committed by individuals or groups in order to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.
Under current United States law, outlined in the USA PATRIOT Act, acts of domestic terrorism are those which: "(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; (B) appear to be intended – (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States."
While the PATRIOT Act defines "domestic terrorism" for the purposes of authorizing law enforcement investigations, no federal criminal offense exists which is referred to as "domestic terrorism". While international terrorism ("acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries") is a defined crime in federal law, acts of domestic terrorism are charged under specific laws, such as killing federal agents or "attempting to use explosives to destroy a building in interstate commerce".
Citizens suspected of terrorism are usually investigated and arrested by federal law enforcement, such as the FBI. For instance, from 2016 to 2018, the FBI arrested 355 suspects on charges related to domestic terrorism. Per the FBI, the vast majority were motivated by racist and anti-government ideology. Some state and local jurisdictions, including Washington, D.C. and New York do define terrorism as a crime, without regard as to whether the perpetrators are international in origin.
Types
Anti-abortion violence
Anti-abortion extremists in the United States have committed violence against individuals and organizations that provide abortions or abortion counseling, acts that are considered terrorism. Incidents have included crimes against people, such as murder, assault, kidnapping, and stalking; crimes which affect both people and property, such as arson or bombings; and property crimes such as vandalism.
“Domestic terrorism in the United States” enters the record as the phenomenon and incidents of American domestic terrorism. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Domestic, terrorism and United can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Domestic terrorism in the United States” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Domestic, terrorism and United provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5290212. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2024, 2016 and 2018.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Domestic terrorism in the United States”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Domestic terrorism in the United States primary sources, Domestic terrorism in the United States archive and Domestic research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Domestic terrorism in the United States”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Domestic terrorism in the United States” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.