Individual Terrorist Motivations (2011–2025)
This is a companion appendix to “Who Actually Inspires Political Violence?” — a reanalysis of the CATO Institute’s data on domestic political violence.
This document covers 70 incidents involving domestic terrorists who carried out fatal attacks in the United States between 2011 and 2025.
1. Grigsby, Holly Ann; Pedersen, David Joseph
Date: 2011-10-05
Fatalities: 4
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: David Pedersen and Holly Grigsby, driven by white supremacist ideology, embarked on a multistate killing spree starting with personal revenge murders of Pedersen’s father (alleged child molester) and stepmother, followed by racially motivated killings of Cody Myers (targeted because his name sounded Jewish) and Reginald Clark (targeted because he was Black). They aimed to spark a race war revolution by assassinating Jews and Zionists, as evidenced by Pedersen’s statement found in the stolen car: “May this act serve notice to all Zionist agents... that there exists yet a stout-hearted resistance to those forces seeking to destroy our race,” and Grigsby’s post-arrest admission they were heading to Sacramento to “kill more Jews.” Their actions were intended to purify and preserve the white race, with plans to target Jewish organizations in multiple cities.
Target: Pedersen’s father and stepmother for personal revenge over alleged child molestation; Cody Myers (white Christian teen) because his surname sounded Jewish; Reginald Clark (Black man) due to his race; planned future targets were Jews/Zionists perceived as destroying the white race.
Key Sources: Portland Monthly, Murderpedia, ADL
2. Wade Michael Page
Date: 2012-08-05
Fatalities: 6
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist and neo-Nazi skinhead affiliated with the Hammerskins, was driven by frustration with perceived white decline and a belief in the need to ‘live the 14 words’: ‘We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.’ He promoted action against ‘oppressors’ in online posts like ‘Passive submission is indirect support to the oppressors. Stand up for yourself and live the 14 words,’ reflecting his view of an impending racial holy war. No manifesto was found, but his tattoos (14/Celtic cross, WP, 838) and music in bands like End Apathy evidenced his ideology; he targeted the Sikh temple as a site of non-white worshippers, possibly misidentified as Muslims.
Target: Sikh worshippers (six killed: five men, one woman aged 39-84) at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin gurdwara in Oak Creek during Sunday services, selected as a visible non-white/immigrant religious community symbolizing the ‘oppressors’ in his white supremacist worldview.
Key Sources: Wikipedia: Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting, Wikipedia: Fourteen Words, ABC News: Tattoos, Washington Post
3. Joekel, Kyle David; Smith, Brian Lyn
Date: 2012-08-16
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: sovereign citizen
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Sovereign Citizens and Other Anti-Government Extremism
Mapping Note: Sovereign citizen anti-government ideology shares the Boogaloo movement’s rejection of federal authority but predates it. No mainstream rhetorical pipeline.
Motivation Summary: Kyle David Joekel and Brian Lyn Smith, adherents of the sovereign citizen movement, ambushed police officers after one was shot during an off-duty security detail, reflecting their anti-government ideology that rejects governmental authority and jurisdiction over them. The group’s leader, Terry Smith, instilled deep distrust of government, refusing licenses and passing beliefs to his sons, while Joekel had prior threats against law enforcement. No manifesto or explicit posts found; motivation aligns with sovereign citizens’ pattern of violent resistance to perceived illegitimate authority, especially law enforcement.
Target: St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff’s deputies (Brandon Nielsen and Jeremy Triche killed; two others wounded), targeted as representatives of an illegitimate government authority that sovereign citizens reject and view as having no jurisdiction over them.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CBS News, St. John Sheriff, ABC News
4. Christopher Dorner
Date: 2013-02-03 to 2013-02-12
Fatalities: 4
Ideology Category: anti-police corruption / revenge
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “State-Sanctioned Murder”: Policing
Mapping Note: Dorner’s violence was driven primarily by personal revenge against specific LAPD officers who fired him, not by mainstream progressive anti-police rhetoric. His manifesto framed the grievance within systemic LAPD racism and corruption, but his targets were the specific people involved in his termination and their families. This makes him an imperfect fit for the mainstream rhetoric → violence pipeline documented in the analysis — his case predates BLM (2013) and his violence was targeted at individuals in a personal grievance, not at police-as-institution. The analysis mentions him briefly as a precursor to the pattern that followed but notes the personal-revenge distinction.
Motivation Summary: Christopher Dorner, a fired LAPD officer, believed his 2009 termination was retaliation for reporting his training officer’s excessive force against a mentally ill suspect, part of a broader culture of racism, corruption, and cover-ups in the LAPD unchanged since the Rampart scandal and Rodney King beating. He launched a targeted killing spree against specific LAPD personnel involved in his dismissal (like Board of Rights members), their families (e.g., Randal Quan’s daughter Monica Quan and her fiancé to punish perceived betrayal), and any officers who aided the conspiracy, declaring it ‘necessary evil’ via manifesto to force public admission of his innocence, sever the ‘blue line,’ and compel cultural change through asymmetric warfare. Dorner vowed attacks would stop only upon official public vindication, viewing himself as a whistleblower giant awakened against systemic injustice.
Target: LAPD officers, supervisors, and executives involved in his firing (e.g., Board of Rights captains, his former attorney Randal Quan); their families (Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence killed as retribution against her father); and patrolling police officers (Riverside PD’s Michael Crain and SBSD’s Jeremiah MacKay) as representatives of the corrupt system—targeted to punish retaliation, expose cover-ups, and pressure reform.
Key Sources: LA Times Manhunt, LAist Manifesto, Wikipedia
5. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tamerlan Tsarnaev
Date: 2013-04-15
Fatalities: 3 from bombs (+2 later)
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: The Tsarnaev brothers, self-radicalized jihadists inspired by al-Qaeda’s Inspire magazine, carried out the Boston Marathon bombing as retribution for U.S. military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, viewing American civilians as collateral damage equivalent to Muslim victims in those wars. Dzhokhar followed his older brother Tamerlan’s lead, scrawling a manifesto in the boat where he hid that justified killing innocents as permitted due to U.S. ‘evil’ against Muslims, while aspiring to martyrdom (shahid). They selected the crowded Marathon as a high-impact ‘target of opportunity’ to awaken mujahideen and strike symbolically against America.
Target: Crowds at the Boston Marathon finish line, chosen as a high-visibility event full of civilians to maximize casualties and media attention, symbolizing retribution against the U.S. for wars in Muslim countries; victims deemed ‘collateral damage’ like innocents in Iraq/Afghanistan.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Boston.com boat note, US v. Tsarnaev Supreme Court
6. Jeremy Moody, Christine Moody
Date: 2013-07-21
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Jeremy and Christine Moody, a white supremacist neo-Nazi couple, targeted registered sex offender Charles Parker because he was a convicted child molester, explicitly telling him they were there to kill him for that reason; they killed his wife Gretchen because she was present in the home. Driven by personal histories of childhood sexual abuse, mental illness, and a divine mission to eradicate all sex offenders, Jeremy had self-published a manifesto the prior year advocating killing entire families of child abusers to “purify the blood line” and had a hit list of additional targets. They showed no remorse post-sentencing, with Jeremy claiming it was what child molesters deserve and Christine calling it the best day of her life.
Target: Registered sex offender Charles Parker (convicted of criminal sexual conduct with a disabled woman) and his wife Gretchen Parker; Parker was targeted for his sex offense conviction, and Gretchen was killed because she lived with and was present with him during the home invasion.
Key Sources: USA Today, Police1, ADL, Lawfare, Prison Legal News
7. Paul Anthony Ciancia
Date: 2013-11-01
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-government
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Sovereign Citizens and Other Anti-Government Extremism
Mapping Note: Anti-government/anti-TSA. No mainstream rhetorical pipeline.
Motivation Summary: Paul Anthony Ciancia, self-described as a ‘pissed-off patriot,’ targeted TSA agents at LAX due to his anti-government ideology, believing TSA represented tyrannical federal overreach and harassed people, including the disabled; his note ranted against TSA ‘pigs,’ expressed desire to ‘kill TSA,’ referenced the New World Order conspiracy, and aimed to ‘instill fear in your traitorous minds’ while sparing innocents. He premeditated the attack to take up arms against his government and ‘make a statement,’ as admitted in court. Texts to family called TSA ‘tyrants’ he targeted.
Target: TSA (Transportation Security Administration) agents specifically, whom he viewed as symbols of federal tyranny, government traitors enforcing oppressive security measures, and harassers of citizens; he asked victims ‘are you TSA?’ and spared non-TSA people.
Key Sources: LA Times, NPR, CNN
8. Frazier Glenn Miller Jr.
Date: 2014-04-13
Fatalities: 3
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., a lifelong white supremacist and antisemite, carried out the attack driven by his belief that Jews controlled the media, government (ZOG), and were orchestrating white genocide through immigration, abortion, and cultural subversion, as detailed in his autobiography and online posts. Diagnosed with terminal emphysema, he planned the shootings to kill Jews before dying, scouting the Jewish Community Center and retirement home to ensure high Jewish presence and terrorize the community. He expressed pride in the act during trial, calling it ‘righteous’ to halt perceived Jewish domination, though he later regretted killing a young boy while viewing other white victims as Jewish accomplices.
Target: Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and nearby Village Shalom Jewish retirement community in Overland Park, Kansas, selected for their high concentrations of Jewish people to maximize antisemitic impact and send a message against perceived Jewish control.
Key Sources: 2014 Overland Park shootings - Wikipedia, Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. - Wikipedia, Kansas City Star interview via Times of Israel, A White Man Speaks Out full text, CNN profile
9. Ali Muhammad Brown
Date: 2014-04-27
Fatalities: 4
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Ali Muhammad Brown, a self-described jihadi and convert to Islam, carried out the killings as retaliation for U.S. military actions in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran, which he believed caused the deaths of innocent Muslim civilians, especially children; he justified them as “just kills” of adult men unaccompanied by women, children, or elderly, stating “a life for a life” and that if a man sees evil, he must act against it. He admitted the murders were part of a jihad and wrote in his journal about following ISIS and learning jihadi training. Targets were selected opportunistically as random adult males fitting his criteria, with two gay men possibly lured via app, but primarily symbolic vengeance rather than specific grievances against victims.
Target: Random adult males unaccompanied by women, children, or elderly, deemed “just kills” for jihadist vengeance; included Leroy Henderson (drive-by), Ahmed Said and Dwone Anderson-Young (gay men post-nightclub), and Brendan Tevlin (at traffic light), none personally known to Brown.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Counter Extremism Project, KIRO 7 News
10. Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger
Date: 2014-05-23
Fatalities: 6
Ideology Category: incel
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Incel, Misogynist, and Men’s Rights Extremism
Motivation Summary: Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old virgin tormented by lifelong rejection from women, launched his “Day of Retribution” to punish women for denying him sex and love while favoring “obnoxious” men, viewing their choices as a “declaration of war” and himself as superior. He targeted the Alpha Phi sorority house as the “hottest girls” who represented his ultimate rejection, stabbing his roommates first, then shooting sorority women and indiscriminately attacking Isla Vista partygoers and couples who enjoyed “hedonistic pleasure” he lacked. His manifesto and “Retribution” video justified the violence as fair retribution to “reshape humanity” by eradicating sex for all since he couldn’t have it, declaring “If I can’t have you, I will destroy you.”
Target: Primarily attractive college sorority women (e.g., outside Alpha Phi/Delta Delta Delta houses) for rejecting him and depriving him of sex; sexually active men, couples, and popular “alpha” partygoers in Isla Vista for living better lives of pleasure; also his roommates as initial victims to secure his apartment.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, LA Times Manifesto Excerpts, Retribution Video Transcript, Isla Vista Killings Wiki
11. Jerad Miller, Amanda Miller
Date: 2014-06-08
Fatalities: 3
Ideology Category: anti-government / patriot movement
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Sovereign Citizens and Other Anti-Government Extremism
Mapping Note: Anti-government/patriot movement. Shared anti-government themes but no mainstream rhetorical pipeline.
Motivation Summary: Jerad and Amanda Miller, driven by extreme anti-government ideology inspired by the Bundy standoff and Patriot movement views, ambushed two police officers at a pizza restaurant, declaring it the start of a revolution, and covered one body with a Gadsden flag and swastika to symbolize tyranny. They viewed law enforcement as oppressors enforcing federal tyranny, as expressed in Jerad’s Facebook manifesto calling for bloodshed to fight oppression and posts hailing sacrifices for liberty. Their target selection of police was to ignite violent resistance against perceived government overreach, continuing into a Walmart where they killed an armed civilian before dying in a shootout.
Target: Two Las Vegas police officers (Igor Soldo and Alyn Beck) targeted as symbols of tyrannical government oppression and law enforcement; an armed civilian (Joseph Wilcox) killed when he intervened.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Mother Jones, Las Vegas Review-Journal
12. Eric Matthew Frein
Date: 2014-09-12
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-government
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Sovereign Citizens and Other Anti-Government Extremism
Mapping Note: Anti-government survivalist who targeted state police. No mainstream rhetorical pipeline.
Motivation Summary: Eric Frein, a survivalist with a grudge against law enforcement, ambushed Pennsylvania State Police troopers at their barracks to spark a revolution against what he saw as a degraded government that had eroded Americans’ freedoms, as expressed in his letter to his parents stating the country needed to pass ‘through the fires of another revolution’ and that ‘the time seems right for a spark to ignite a fire in the hearts of men.’ His journal detailed the cold-blooded execution of the attack, dehumanizing the victims, while prosecutors described it as terrorism aimed at changing government through violence. No formal manifesto or social media posts were found, but his writings and prior statements about wanting to kill officers confirmed his anti-government worldview.
Target: Pennsylvania State Police troopers at the Blooming Grove barracks during a shift change, selected as representatives of law enforcement which Frein viewed as part of an oppressive government he sought to incite revolution against; victims were targeted apparently at random as symbols rather than for personal reasons.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, AP News - Frein letter, CBS News trial coverage, NY Mag article
13. Justin Nojan Sullivan
Date: 2014-12-18
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Justin Nojan Sullivan, who converted to Islam no later than September 2014, murdered his 74-year-old neighbor John Bailey Clark on December 17-18, 2014, using a stolen .22 rifle to obtain money for purchasing weapons to support ISIS attacks in the US. His radicalization involved consuming ISIS propaganda like beheading videos, destroying his parents’ religious items, communicating with ISIS recruiter Junaid Hussain, and planning mass casualty shootings at crowded venues like concerts or bars using silencers and AR-15s to maximize deaths while escaping to kill again. Sullivan viewed himself as a mujahid aiming to establish an “Islamic State of North America” through guerrilla warfare, declaring “the war is here,” rather than traveling abroad.
Target: 74-year-old neighbor John Bailey Clark, targeted opportunistically for robbery to fund ISIS-inspired mass casualty terrorist attacks; no ideological animus toward Clark specifically, as the murder preceded direct ISIS contact by six months but aligned with Sullivan’s emerging jihadist support.
Key Sources: Sullivan Indictment, DOJ Sentencing, Counter Extremism Project, Investigative Project
14. Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley
Date: 2014-12-20
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: anti-police / Black Lives Matter revenge
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “State-Sanctioned Murder”: Policing
Motivation Summary: Ismaaiyl Brinsley was driven by outrage over the police killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, posting on Instagram: “I’m putting Wings on Pigs Today ... They Take 1 of Ours ... Lets Take 2 of Theirs” with hashtags #ShootThePolice #RIPEricGarner #RIPMikeBrown, framing the attack as direct retaliation. He targeted NYPD officers as symbols of authority responsible for black deaths, selecting a patrol car at random in Brooklyn after traveling from Baltimore. No formal manifesto existed, but his social media served as a public justification amid national protests against police brutality.
Target: NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, targeted as ‘pigs’ (police) in retaliation for the deaths of unarmed black men Eric Garner and Michael Brown killed by police.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, PBS News, BBC News
15. Dylann Storm Roof
Date: 2015-06-17
Fatalities: 9
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Dylann Roof, self-radicalized online after researching the Trayvon Martin case and ‘black on white crime,’ embraced white supremacist ideology viewing Blacks as inferior, violent, and a threat to whites, prompting him to act violently to ignite a race war. He targeted Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, a historic Black church symbolizing African American history and resistance, because the city once had a high Black-to-white ratio and no one else was acting on similar beliefs. In his manifesto and confession, he justified the attack as necessary bravery to bring his views from the internet to the real world, despite nearly backing out due to the victims’ kindness.
Target: African American parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mother Emanuel), a historic Black church in Charleston, SC, targeted for its prominence in African American history, high symbolic value, and to maximize impact in igniting a race war against perceived Black threat.
Key Sources: Wikipedia: Dylann Roof, NPR: Photos and Manifesto, CNN: Roof Manifesto in Court
16. Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez
Date: 2015-07-16
Fatalities: 5
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, struggling with drug abuse, depression, job loss, and debt, became self-radicalized through online jihadist propaganda including Anwar al-Awlaki videos, viewing martyrdom as absolution for his sins. His diary and blog expressed radical thoughts on jihad, submission to Allah, and life as a test, without specific attack plans. FBI Director James Comey confirmed the attack was motivated by foreign terrorist organization propaganda, treated as a jihad case. He specifically targeted U.S. military recruiting and reserve facilities as symbols for jihad in America.
Target: U.S. military personnel at an Armed Forces Career Center (recruiting office) and a U.S. Navy Reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, selected as soft targets representing American military presence and to fulfill his jihadist martyrdom aspirations.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Counter Extremism Project, CNN on FBI statement
17. Robert Lewis Dear, Jr.
Date: 2015-11-27
Fatalities: 3
Ideology Category: anti-abortion extremist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: “Murder of the Unborn”: Abortion
Motivation Summary: Robert Lewis Dear, Jr. attacked the Planned Parenthood clinic as a ‘righteous crusade’ and ‘war’ to stop what he saw as the mass murder of babies and sale of ‘baby parts,’ influenced by undercover videos and long-held anti-abortion views. He chose the clinic as the ‘most evil spot’ for his ‘last stand’ after believing the FBI was pursuing him, justifying the killings of three people as saving thousands of fetuses and idolizing figures like Paul Hill who murdered abortion providers. In court and interviews, he called himself a ‘warrior for the babies,’ showed no remorse, and dreamed of being thanked by aborted fetuses in heaven.
Target: Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, targeted because it performed abortions, which Dear viewed as murdering babies and selling their parts; he saw it as the epicenter of evil in a divine war against the abortion industry.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, BBC News, DOJ Federal Indictment
18. Syed Rizwan Farook; Tashfeen Malik
Date: 2015-12-02
Fatalities: 14
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, self-radicalized jihadists inspired by ISIS, carried out the attack after discussing jihad and martyrdom in private messages since late 2013. During the shooting at Farook’s workplace holiday event, Malik posted on Facebook pledging allegiance on their behalf to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The target selection appears opportunistic, as Farook attended the event and left shortly before returning armed; emails suggest Malik objected to his participation in a Christmas party, and reports note Farook’s prior arguments with a coworker critical of Islam.
Target: Farook’s co-workers at a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health holiday party/training event held at the Inland Regional Center, a facility serving people with disabilities; targeted as a soft, accessible gathering of colleagues, possibly triggered by workplace religious tensions and Malik’s opposition to Farook attending a non-Muslim holiday event.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Business Insider, Counter Extremism Project, CNN, LA Times
19. Omar Seddique Mateen
Date: 2016-06-12
Fatalities: 49
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Omar Mateen, self-identifying as an Islamic State soldier, pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 911 calls and Facebook posts during the attack, stating it was retaliation for U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria that killed innocent Muslims, specifically triggered by the death of ISIS commander Abu Waheeb. He demanded America stop bombing his people and vowed further ISIS attacks. The Pulse nightclub was selected opportunistically due to lack of security after scouting Orlando venues, not pre-planned as a gay target per cell records and court evidence from his wife’s trial.
Target: Mateen targeted patrons at Pulse, a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando hosting a Latin Night event, primarily for its soft target characteristics (minimal security) after driving past other sites; no evidence of anti-LGBTQ motive was found by the FBI, with selection confirmed as last-minute by cell data.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CNN 911 Transcript, Time Magazine, FBI via PBS
20. Johnson, Micah Xavier (Scott, Lakeem Keon mentioned in query but separate incident)
Date: 2016-07-07
Fatalities: 5
Ideology Category: black nationalist
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “State-Sanctioned Murder”: Policing
Motivation Summary: Micah Xavier Johnson, driven by black nationalist ideology and rage over police killings of black men like Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, ambushed white police officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, using military tactics to kill five and wound others. He specifically targeted white officers, telling negotiators he wanted to kill white people, especially white cops, and acted alone despite online affiliations with hate groups like the New Black Panther Party (from which he was expelled). No manifesto was released, but his home contained tactical journals and bomb materials suggesting broader plans; a disjointed anti-white Facebook post preceded the attack. Lakeem Keon Scott conducted a separate shooting in Bristol, TN the same day, shouting anti-police slogans, but is not connected to Dallas.
Target: White police officers at a Black Lives Matter protest, selected for retaliation against perceived police brutality toward black men and anti-white racism
Key Sources: Wikipedia: Micah Xavier Johnson, Wikipedia: 2016 Dallas shooting, Reuters, PolitiFact
21. Gavin Eugene Long
Date: 2016-07-17
Fatalities: 4 (3 immediate, 1 in 2022)
Ideology Category: black separatist / sovereign citizen
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “State-Sanctioned Murder”: Policing
Motivation Summary: Gavin Long, driven by black separatist and sovereign citizen ideologies, targeted police officers as revenge for the killing of Alton Sterling and broader perceived oppression against Black people by “bad cops” protected by the system. In his manifesto and videos, he argued that violence and bloodshed were the only effective response to police brutality, dismissing protests as futile, and aimed to force “good cops” to rise against corrupt ones by inflicting universal pain on law enforcement. He viewed the attack as a “necessary evil” to spark change in the police and judicial systems, inspired by events like the Dallas shooting.
Target: Police officers in Baton Rouge, ambushed indiscriminately regardless of race (”bad and good cops”) because he believed the system shielded corrupt officers who brutalized Black people, necessitating violence to compel reform and accountability.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, NPR, BET manifesto, CNN
22. Joshua Cummings
Date: 2017-02-01
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Joshua Cummings, a recent convert to Islam who had alarmed local mosque leaders with radical statements about establishing Islamic rule and Shariah law through fighting in the US, executed a uniformed transit security guard resembling a police officer by approaching him from behind and shooting him in the neck while commanding him to obey. Post-arrest, he pledged bay’ah (allegiance) to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declaring himself a soldier for the Islamic State, but insisted the killing was not for ISIS due to his prior US Army oath to the Constitution, instead claiming it was done purely for the pleasure of Allah. No evidence linked him directly to ISIS direction, but his self-professed jihadist commitment and targeting of authority figures aligned with Islamist extremist ideology.
Target: Scott Von Lanken, a 56-year-old uniformed RTD transit security guard (former pastor and resembling police uniform), targeted likely due to his authority figure appearance amid Cummings’ expressed anti-police sentiments, radical Islamist views favoring violent establishment of Islamic rule, and obedience-command at the attack.
Key Sources: Westword, Denverite Mosque Warning, USA Today, ADL Report
23. James Harris Jackson
Date: 2017-03-20
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: James Harris Jackson, driven by white supremacist ideology, traveled to New York City to kill black men as a terrorist act to deter interracial relationships between black men and white women and to ignite a race war. He viewed black people as inferior, deserving extermination, and saw his attack as practice for broader assaults on younger black men in Times Square, selecting Timothy Caughman because he was alone, black, and vulnerable. In confessions and interviews, he expressed a worldview of white racial preservation against perceived erosion, subscribing to white genocide theories and neo-Nazi rhetoric online.
Target: Black men, specifically to terrorize them, prevent interracial dating with white women, and spark a race war; Timothy Caughman (66-year-old black man collecting recyclables) was targeted as an opportunistic ‘practice’ kill because he was black and alone on a dark street.
Key Sources: Counter Extremism Project, Wikipedia, NY Times
24. Jeremy Joseph Christian
Date: 2017-05-26
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Mapping Note: Christian’s classification is contested. While he shouted racist and anti-Muslim slurs and had neo-Nazi social media content, he also expressed support for Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein, attended free speech rallies, and his ideology was incoherent. CATO classifies as right-wing white supremacist based on the racist content of the attack. The conventional classification is maintained here because the attack itself was motivated by racial hatred, but this is another case where the left-right binary struggles with ideologically incoherent perpetrators.
Motivation Summary: Jeremy Joseph Christian, a self-identified white nationalist, launched a racist and anti-Muslim tirade on a Portland MAX train targeting two teenage girls—one wearing a hijab—telling them to go back to Saudi Arabia, that they didn’t belong in his country, and to kill themselves, while claiming taxpayer rights and First Amendment protections. When three men intervened to defend the girls, he stabbed them, killing two, viewing their actions as ‘liberalism’ aggression against his free speech. Post-arrest, he boasted about the stabbings, called them what ‘liberalism gets you,’ and equated his violence with patriotism, consistent with his neo-Nazi social media posts praising Timothy McVeigh, antisemitic threats, and rally shouts of ‘Die, Muslims!’
Target: Two teenage girls (one Black, one Muslim wearing a hijab) subjected to hate speech as non-white Muslim ‘invaders’ ruining ‘his country’; the three intervening men stabbed as defenders of minorities and suppressors of his ‘free speech.’
Key Sources: Wikipedia, NPR, OPB Trial Rebuttal, CNN Records
25. James Alex Fields Jr.
Date: 2017-08-12
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: James Alex Fields Jr., driven by neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology, attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville to support white nationalist causes protesting the removal of a Confederate statue. He deliberately drove his car into counter-protesters, whom he viewed as ideological enemies like communists and anti-white liberals, as evidenced by his pre-attack text to his mother featuring Adolf Hitler saying “We’re not the ones who need to be careful,” Instagram memes depicting cars hitting protesters, and post-arrest jail calls labeling victims’ families as “the enemy.” His actions mirrored violent imagery he shared online, reflecting premeditated hatred against those opposing white supremacy.
Target: Counter-protesters opposing the white nationalist Unite the Right rally, targeted because Fields perceived them as threats to white supremacist ideology, “anti-white” activists, communists, and personal enemies standing against his Nazi worldview.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Virginia Court of Appeals, Washington Post, WTOP News
26. Everett Glenn Miller
Date: 2017-08-18
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: Black identity extremist / Moorish sovereign citizen
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “State-Sanctioned Murder”: Policing
Mapping Note: Black identity extremist / Moorish sovereign citizen. Primary motivation was anti-police hatred rooted in perceived racism, consistent with the policing rhetoric section.
Motivation Summary: Everett Glenn Miller, radicalized online into a Moorish sovereign citizen ideology influenced by black identity extremism, targeted police officers out of hatred for law enforcement, whom he viewed as the tyrannical arm of a racist and oppressive government harassing black people. Hours before the attack, he posted anti-police rants like “Am I the only one. Fuck a Cop . . . Racist Fuckers” and urged shooting back; after the murders, he said the officers “got what they deserved.” His social media showed animus against whites and identification as a Moor, consistent with FBI concerns about extremists motivated by perceived police racism post-Ferguson.
Target: Kissimmee Police Officers Matthew Baxter and Richard “Sam” Howard, ambushed during a routine loitering check after Miller inserted himself into the situation and summoned the sergeant; targeted as symbols of law enforcement oppression against black people, regardless of the officers’ races.
Key Sources: Florida Supreme Court opinion, WFTV report on expert testimony, Perspectives on Terrorism article
27. Emanuel Kidega Samson
Date: 2017-09-24
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: black supremacist / anti-white revenge
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: Black Supremacism: The Mirror Image
Mapping Note: Samson’s attack was explicitly retaliatory — revenge for Dylann Roof’s 2015 massacre of Black churchgoers in Charleston. His ideological influences were Black nationalist fringe sources: the New Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, and radical YouTube channels associated with the “House of Konsciousness Movement.” His Facebook showed Black power symbols, images of armed New Black Panther members, and conspiracy theories. His political views were “Your votes mean nothing” — disengagement from mainstream politics entirely. There is an indirect connection to mainstream progressive rhetoric: the progressive narrative that America is fundamentally white supremacist and that events like Charleston represent a systemic pattern rather than an isolated horror creates a cultural atmosphere in which racial revenge becomes more psychologically available. But Samson’s direct radicalization pipeline ran through Black nationalist fringe sources, not through Democratic elected officials or mainstream progressive organizations. This is analogous to how mainstream conservative immigration rhetoric shares vocabulary with but does not cause white supremacist violence.
Motivation Summary: Emanuel Kidega Samson carried out the attack as revenge for the 2015 Charleston church shooting by Dylann Roof, where nine Black parishioners were killed by a white supremacist. He left a note in his vehicle stating ‘Dylann Roof is less than nothing’ and referencing ‘the blood that 10 of your kind will shed ... in terms of vengeance,’ intending to kill at least 10 white people. His social media showed sympathies for black supremacist groups like the New Black Panther Party and Nation of Islam, along with conspiracy theories.
Target: White parishioners at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, a diverse church Samson formerly attended, selected due to familiarity and to retaliate against white people for the Charleston massacre by killing 10 in ‘vengeance.’
Key Sources: Wikipedia, The Tennessean, PBS News
28. Saipov, Sayfullo Habibullaevic
Date: 2017-10-31
Fatalities: 8
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Sayfullo Saipov was radicalized by ISIS propaganda videos he consumed online over countless hours while driving, convincing him it was his religious duty and God’s will to carry out a martyrdom truck attack against civilians in a Crusader country (the US). He meticulously planned the assault for a year, choosing Halloween on Manhattan’s crowded bike path near the World Trade Center expecting more pedestrians and following ISIS social media instructions for vehicular jihad ‘almost exactly to a T,’ with a note pledging allegiance to ISIS and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ post-attack. After the rampage killing eight, he confessed to agents he aimed to kill as many as possible in response to ISIS calls, smiled recalling it, and requested an ISIS flag, later calling himself an ISIS soldier in jail calls.
Target: Civilians (cyclists and pedestrians) on Manhattan’s Hudson River bike path on Halloween, selected for high civilian density that day, vulnerability of the protected path to a truck ramming attack as promoted by ISIS, and location near symbolic sites like the World Trade Center to maximize terror impact on Americans and foreign tourists as ‘citizens of Crusader countries’ opposing ISIS.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CNN Trial Coverage, DOJ Sentencing
29. Matthew Riehl
Date: 2017-12-31
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-government
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Sovereign Citizens and Other Anti-Government Extremism
Mapping Note: Riehl had severe mental health issues including psychotic episodes and PTSD. He called 911 himself twice before ambushing responding deputies. His anti-government views (calling officers “Nazis,” sharing alt-right memes) may have been more symptom of mental illness than coherent ideology. The attack lacked explicit ideological statements and appeared rooted in personal delusions and paranoia amid mental breakdown. Mapped to anti-government section as the closest fit, but this is arguably more mental illness than political violence. No mainstream rhetorical pipeline.
Motivation Summary: Matthew Riehl, a former attorney and veteran with severe mental health issues including psychotic episodes and PTSD, ambushed responding deputies after calling 911 twice about a roommate dispute, claiming self-defense in his livestream while firing nearly 400 rounds. His actions were driven by escalating paranoia and deep-seated grievances against law enforcement, fueled by a speeding ticket that prompted harassing YouTube rants calling officers Nazis and a video announcing his libertarian run against the sheriff to ‘fire all these bums.’ Despite alt-right sympathies like Pepe memes and Breitbart shares, the attack lacked explicit ideological statements and appeared rooted in personal delusions and anti-police hatred amid mental breakdown.
Target: Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies responding to Riehl’s own 911 calls for a domestic disturbance/mental health hold at his apartment; targeted as perceived threats/intruders due to prior harassing interactions over a ticket, welfare checks, and general contempt for police as corrupt ‘Nazis’ and ‘bums.’
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CBS News, Newsweek, ABC News
30. Samuel Lincoln Woodward
Date: 2018-01-02
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: neo-Nazi
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Samuel Woodward, a member of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, stabbed Blaze Bernstein 28 times because he was gay and Jewish, driven by profound homophobic and antisemitic hatred cultivated through his involvement with the group and personal writings. He habitually targeted gay men online by posing as bi-curious on apps like Grindr, sending them images of dead gay men, and documenting his hatred in a ‘Sam’s Diary of Hate’ where he wrote they ‘deserve’ such treatment and expect to be ‘hate crimed.’ Two weeks prior, he wrote ‘texting is boring but murder isn’t,’ indicating premeditated violent intent to prove his allegiance or resolve internal conflicts with his sexuality amid Atomwaffen ideology.
Target: Blaze Bernstein, a 19-year-old gay Jewish University of Pennsylvania student and former high school classmate, was lured via Snapchat dating app under false pretenses of a hookup, targeted specifically due to his sexual orientation and Jewish identity aligning with Woodward’s neo-Nazi hatred of gays and Jews.
Key Sources: WHYY, ProPublica, Wikipedia, Advocate, LA Times
31. Corey Johnson
Date: 2018-03-12
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: Domestic Islamist extremism
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Corey Johnson, who had shifted from white supremacist interests to radical Islamism, stabbed his victims during a sleepover because they mocked his Muslim faith and prayer rituals, and one idolized celebrities as gods, which he viewed as violating Islamic beliefs. He had been consuming ISIS propaganda, viewing beheading videos, supporting Anwar al-Awlaki, and attempting to contact ISIS, while under FBI investigation for terrorism-related online threats. Johnson read the Quran beforehand for courage and sent photos of the attack to an online Muslim contact, acting on his radicalized worldview that justified violence against those disrespecting his religion.
Target: Friends and host family at a birthday sleepover (13-year-old Jovanni Sierra, killed; Elaine Simon, stabbed 12 times; her 13-year-old son Dane Bancroft, stabbed 32 times) because they mocked his prayer rituals and idolized celebrities, actions he deemed contrary to Islam.
Key Sources: CNN, Palm Beach Post sentencing, ADL Murder and Extremism Report
32. Zwiefelhofer, Alex Jared; Lang, Craig Austin
Date: 2018-04-10
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: anti-communist foreign fighter
CATO Ideology: Foreign nationalism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Former U.S. Army soldiers Alex Zwiefelhofer and Craig Lang, who met fighting with Ukraine’s Right Sector against Russian separatists, murdered a Florida couple during a fake Armslist gun sale to steal $3,000 to fund their travel to Venezuela for military raids against the socialist Maduro government, explicitly planning to “fight against the Venezuelan government” and “kill people.” Their target selection was opportunistic, luring gun buyers with cash via online ads for quick robbery funds. No formal manifesto exists, but court records and reporting detail their pattern of seeking combat in anti-government insurgencies (Ukraine, attempted South Sudan vs. al-Shabaab), driven by a warrior mindset and stated hatred of communism rather than racial ideology.
Target: Serafin “Danny” Lorenzo Jr., 53, and Deana K. Lorenzo, 51, from Brooksville, Florida—a couple who traveled to Estero for a gun purchase on Armslist—were targeted opportunistically as victims with cash ($3,000) for a staged firearm sale, enabling the robbery without ideological animus toward them specifically.
Key Sources: WGCU, Superseding Indictment, Task & Purpose
33. Gregory Alan Bush
Date: 2018-10-24
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: racist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Gregory Alan Bush was driven by racial hatred, first attempting to enter a predominantly Black church before killing two random Black individuals at a nearby Kroger supermarket because of their race, as he admitted in his federal guilty plea. He demonstrated explicit racial selectivity by telling a white armed bystander, “Don’t shoot me. I won’t shoot you. Whites don’t shoot whites,” sparing him while targeting Black victims with no prior relationships. His history included racist social media posts about black-on-black crime and racial insults, alongside prior use of racial epithets against his Black ex-wife.
Target: Two random Black grocery shoppers, Maurice E. Stallard (69) and Vickie Lee Jones (67), targeted solely because of their race after Bush failed to access a Black church; he selected them opportunistically in the store and parking lot to act on his racist motivations.
Key Sources: DOJ Guilty Plea, Wikipedia, NPR
34. Robert Gregory Bowers
Date: 2018-10-27
Fatalities: 11
Ideology Category: antisemitic white nationalist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Robert Bowers was driven by virulent antisemitism and white nationalist beliefs, posting extensively on Gab about Jews orchestrating genocide against his people by aiding migrant ‘invaders’ through HIAS. He targeted the Tree of Life synagogue because one of its congregations, Dor Hadash, participated in HIAS’s National Refugee Shabbat, yelling ‘All Jews must die!’ during the attack and telling police post-arrest that Jews were committing genocide and needed to die. His final Gab post announced: ‘HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.’
Target: Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh (including Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light congregations) because the site housed Dor Hadash, which supported HIAS refugee efforts that Bowers blamed for bringing in migrants to slaughter white Americans, viewing all Jews as complicit in a genocidal plot against his people.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, DOJ Criminal Complaint, NY Times, CBS News
35. Scott Paul Beierle
Date: 2018-11-02
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: incel
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Incel, Misogynist, and Men’s Rights Extremism
Motivation Summary: Scott Paul Beierle, driven by misogynistic extremism and incel ideology, attacked a yoga studio due to lifelong romantic rejections by women, viewing them as arrogant whores responsible for his failures. His writings expressed entitlement to relationships and vows of violent revenge, such as ‘If I can’t find one decent female to live with, I will find many indecent females to die with,’ admiring killers like Elliot Rodger. He selected a women-filled yoga class for maximum harm to ‘indecent females,’ planning the assault months in advance with no specific personal targets but general hatred amplified by racism and societal grievances.
Target: Women in a hot yoga class at Hot Yoga Tallahassee, selected as a venue predominantly attended by females symbolizing the ‘indecent females’ and ‘American whores’ he blamed for denying him romantic and sexual success; no specific victims targeted, but chosen for its association with attractive women via his porn interests and a past rejected date who attended there.
Key Sources: Tallahassee Police Supplemental Report, US Secret Service Case Study via Independent, Wikipedia
36. John Timothy Earnest
Date: 2019-04-27
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: John Timothy Earnest was driven by white supremacist antisemitism, believing Jews as a collective were orchestrating the genocide of the European (white) race through media control, immigration, cultural Marxism, and other means, as detailed in his manifesto. He targeted the Chabad of Poway synagogue on Passover to kill Jews in what he framed as righteous self-defense of his race and Christian duty, inspired by prior attackers like Robert Bowers and Brenton Tarrant. His stated justification invoked biblical passages portraying Jews as satanic and murderous, vowing no remorse and wishing he had killed more to spark a revolutionary defense against supposed Jewish tyranny.
Target: Chabad of Poway synagogue worshippers (one killed: Lori Gilbert-Kaye, rabbi and others injured) because he viewed Jews as responsible for the white genocide and destruction of the European race, acting as a unified genocidal enemy requiring violent retaliation.
Key Sources: Poway synagogue shooting - Wikipedia, Earnest Manifesto, DOJ Criminal Complaint
37. Santino William Legan
Date: 2019-07-28
Fatalities: 3
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Santino William Legan promoted the white supremacist text Might Is Right on Instagram and ranted about ‘hordes of mestizos and Silicon Valley white twats’ overcrowding the countryside at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, which he selected as one of his targets from a list that also included religious sites, political parties, federal buildings, and courthouses. He fired randomly into the crowd while expressing anger, reflecting his immersion in violent, extremist ideologies blending racial grievances with social Darwinist might-makes-right philosophy. No formal manifesto was left, but his posts and digital footprint evidenced white supremacist influences amid explored conflicting extremisms.
Target: Crowd at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, a large public gathering he derided for mestizo (Latino) and affluent white attendees overcrowding rural areas; chosen from a broader target list of political, religious, and government sites, possibly for high visibility and personal ties to Gilroy.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CNN, NBC News
38. Patrick Crusius
Date: 2019-08-03
Fatalities: 23
Ideology Category: white supremacist / eco-fascist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: “Invasion,” the Great Replacement, and Eco-Fascism
Mapping Note: CATO classifies as “white supremacist / Right” but Crusius’s manifesto reveals a syncretic ideology that defies left-right classification. He explicitly rejected Trump and both parties, supported universal healthcare and UBI, cited environmental concerns (referencing The Lorax), and framed his attack partly in ecological terms. His ideology predated and was independent of any mainstream Republican rhetoric.
Motivation Summary: Patrick Crusius was driven by a syncretic ideology combining white nationalist fears of the “Great Replacement” with environmentalism, anti-corporatism, and support for left-wing economic policies. He viewed Hispanic immigration as an “invasion” of Texas that would enable Democrats to create a one-party state, destroy white culture, and exacerbate job losses from automation and environmental degradation. His manifesto “The Inconvenient Truth,” posted on 8chan, explicitly supported the Christchurch shooter and called for racial separation into territories. Critically, Crusius preemptively rejected any connection to Trump, writing that his ideology “predates Trump and his campaign for president.” He attacked both Democrats AND Republicans as failures, supported universal basic income and universal healthcare (writing that “ambitious social projects like universal healthcare and UBI” would be more achievable with fewer dependents), framed his attack partly in ecological terms of reducing population to make American resource consumption sustainable, and cited The Lorax as illustrating corporate environmental destruction.
Target: Hispanics/Mexicans at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas (near the U.S.-Mexico border), selected as “instigators” of the “Hispanic invasion” threatening white American jobs, politics, culture, and sustainability through demographic replacement.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Bridge Initiative, Counter Extremism Project
39. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani
Date: 2019-12-06
Fatalities: 3
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, radicalized by 2015 and in contact with AQAP, carried out the attack driven by jihadist ideology, posting a manifesto on Twitter condemning America as a ‘nation of evil’ for its wars in Muslim countries, support for Israel, and crimes against Muslims and humanity, quoting bin Laden and al-Awlaki. He targeted U.S. naval personnel training him as symbolic retaliation against American military presence and actions abroad. AQAP later claimed direction of the attack, corroborated by FBI analysis of his phones showing coordination up to the night before.
Target: U.S. Navy sailors and personnel at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, as representatives of the American military blamed for invasions of Muslim lands, support of Israel, and global crimes against Muslims.
Key Sources: Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting - Wikipedia, The Pensacola Terrorist Attack: The Enduring Influence of al-Qa`ida Affiliates - CTC, FBI confirms Pensacola Navy base shooting suspect posted manifesto - WEAR, FBI: US naval base attack ‘motivated by al-Qaeda’ - BBC
40. London T. Phillips
Date: 2019-12-07
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-law enforcement
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “State-Sanctioned Murder”: Policing
Motivation Summary: London T. Phillips ambushed and executed Fayetteville police officer Stephen Carr by shooting him 10 times in the head while he sat in his patrol car outside headquarters, motivated by interest in anti-law enforcement groups evident from his social media. He was looking to kill any police officer, carrying extra ammunition and reloading during the attack. No manifesto or explicit statements were released, but prior police interactions included impersonating an officer and issues with gun possession due to a medical marijuana card.
Target: Police officer Stephen Carr (any law enforcement representative), targeted indiscriminately as part of an intentional anti-police act.
Key Sources: Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Police1, Fox10Phoenix
41. David Anderson; Francine Graham
Date: 2019-12-10
Fatalities: 4
Ideology Category: Black Hebrew Israelite / antisemitic
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: Black Supremacism: The Mirror Image
Mapping Note: Black Hebrew Israelite ideology targeting Jews at a kosher supermarket. This ideology — viewing Jews as imposters who stole Black heritage — has no connection to mainstream rhetoric from either party. CATO classifies as Left.
Motivation Summary: David Anderson and Francine Graham, motivated by Black Hebrew Israelite ideology and personal hatreds, targeted a kosher supermarket housing a Jewish day school because they viewed Jews as imposters who stole Black heritage and birthright, as expressed in Anderson’s social media posts calling Jews ‘imposters who inhabited synagogues of Satan’ and his statement during the attack: ‘They stole our heritage, they stole our birthright, and they hired these guys to stop us.’ A note in their van stated ‘I do this because my creator makes me do this and I hate who he hates,’ reflecting divine justification for hating Jews and police, whom they saw as Jewish-controlled, amid months of planning larger attacks on the Jewish community and law enforcement. Their anti-police animus led them to kill Detective Joseph Seals upon encounter and focus fire on responding officers.
Target: JC Kosher Supermarket (owned by Mindy Ferencz, killing her, employee Douglas Rodriguez, and customer Moshe Deutsch) and police; selected for its Jewish/Hasidic ownership, proximity to a yeshiva/day school with 50 students, and as part of planned assaults on Jewish sites and law enforcement due to antisemitic beliefs portraying Jews as usurpers of Black/Hebrew identity and controllers of police.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, NY Times, Jewish Currents, ADL Report, NJ AG
42. Steven Carrillo; Robert Alvin Justus, Jr.
Date: 2020-05-29
Fatalities: 2 (1 federal officer in Oakland; 1 sheriff’s deputy in Santa Cruz)
Ideology Category: Boogaloo (anti-government extremist)
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Anti-Government Extremism: Boogaloo Movement
Motivation Summary: Steven Carrillo and Robert Justus, adherents to the Boogaloo movement’s anti-government ideology, targeted federal law enforcement officers on May 29, 2020, during George Floyd protests in Oakland to ignite a civil war against government tyranny. Carrillo posted on Facebook urging nationwide attacks on ‘specialty soup bois’ (federal agents) using riot chaos as cover, writing ‘It’s a great opportunity to target the specialty soup bois’ and ‘Use their anger to fuel our fire,’ with Justus replying ‘Lets boogie.’ Carrillo admitted aligning with anti-government views to commit violence against federal officers, as detailed in his plea and court documents, and wrote ‘BOOG’ and ‘stop the duopoly’ in his blood post-arrest.
Target: Federal Protective Service officers guarding the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, California, selected because they represented federal law enforcement (’soup bois’), attacked via drive-by shooting from a van during nearby protests to exploit chaos, mask the assault, and provoke broader anti-government uprising.
Key Sources: Steven Carrillo Criminal Complaint; Carrillo Sentencing Memorandum; Wikipedia: 2020 Boogaloo murders; CBS News: Facebook Posts; ADL Report
43. Roy Den Hollander
Date: 2020-07-19
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: misogynist men’s rights activist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Incel, Misogynist, and Men’s Rights Extremism
Mapping Note: Den Hollander was not a classic incel (involuntary celibate). He was a men’s rights attorney with specific legal and ideological grievances about feminism and the legal system, who targeted a rival men’s rights lawyer and a federal judge assigned to his case. His misogynist extremism was channeled through legal activism rather than the online sexual-grievance subculture that characterizes incel violence. Mapped to the incel/misogynist/men’s rights section as the closest fit, since the underlying worldview — resentment of women and feminist institutions — is shared, even though the specific expression differed.
Motivation Summary: Roy Den Hollander, a self-described anti-feminist men’s rights activist dying of cancer, targeted rivals and adversaries he blamed for perpetuating feminist oppression of men through the legal system. He killed Marc Angelucci, a rival in the men’s rights movement whom he resented for excluding him from a key lawsuit, and attacked Judge Esther Salas’s family—killing her son Daniel—because she presided over his male-only draft case and allegedly stalled it politically, as he disparaged her in his misogynistic writings. His manifesto advocated men violently eliminating those “responsible for destroying their lives before committing suicide,” aligning with his terminal diagnosis and list of targets found in his car after his suicide.
Target: Marc Angelucci (rival men’s rights lawyer, grudge over lawsuit exclusion) and family of Judge Esther Salas (presided over his case, viewed as stalling it; disparaged as incompetent Latina judge), selected as personal enemies symbolizing feminist control of judiciary and opposition in activism.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, ADL Report, CNN, The Atlantic
44. Michael F. Reinoehl
Date: 2020-08-29
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: antifa
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “Enemies of Democracy”: Fascism
Motivation Summary: Michael Reinoehl, a self-identified ‘100% ANTIFA’ activist radicalized by Portland’s BLM protests, viewed the conflicts as the start of a civil war requiring armed resistance to ‘fix everything’ and ‘change the course of humanity.’ He targeted Aaron Danielson, a Patriot Prayer supporter in a pro-Trump caravan clashing with protesters, after spotting, hiding from, and following him as part of his ‘security’ role trailing perceived threats. Reinoehl justified the shooting as self-defense, claiming Danielson was about to stab or mace others, though police evidence showed premeditated pursuit and Danielson armed only with bear spray, pistol, and baton (no knife).
Target: Aaron Danielson, a far-right Patriot Prayer supporter participating in a pro-Trump caravan through Portland that clashed with George Floyd protesters; targeted as a perceived fascist threat amid escalating street violence between left-wing demonstrators and right-wing groups.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Multnomah County DA Affidavit, OPB/ProPublica, Vice News via Wikipedia
45. Robert Aaron Long
Date: 2021-03-16
Fatalities: 8
Ideology Category: religious extremism (anti-sex addiction)
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Religious Extremism: The Atlanta Spa Shootings
Mapping Note: Robert Aaron Long targeted massage parlors over personal religious guilt about sex addiction. Cherokee County DA found no evidence of racial bias and stated explicitly “This was not any kind of hate crime.” No manifesto, no political social media, no ideological influences. Not politically motivated by any mainstream rhetoric from either party. CATO classifies as Right, presumably based on religious conservative cultural profile, but this was personal pathology, not political violence.
Motivation Summary: Robert Aaron Long, a deeply religious young man struggling with what he described as a sex addiction conflicting with his Christian beliefs, targeted massage parlors where he had previously sought sexual services, viewing them as sources of temptation to eliminate. He confessed to police that he aimed to “eliminate the temptation” and “help” others with similar addictions, after initially planning suicide, and denied any racial motivation despite six of the eight victims being women of Asian descent. No manifesto or ideological social media posts were found; his actions stemmed from personal religious guilt and shame over pornography and prostitution use, for which he had sought evangelical treatment.
Target: Massage parlors (Young’s Asian Massage, Gold Spa, Aromatherapy Spa) perceived by Long as sources of sexual temptation and prostitution, where he had been a customer; he shot workers and clients indiscriminately inside to destroy the temptation, not based on race or gender per his statements, though prosecutors in one jurisdiction alleged hate crime elements.
Key Sources: Wikipedia: 2021 Atlanta spa shootings, NPR: Robert Aaron Long pleads guilty, CNN: What we know about Robert Aaron Long
46. Ronald Troyke
Date: 2021-06-21
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: anti-police / sovereign citizen
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “State-Sanctioned Murder”: Policing
Motivation Summary: Ronald Troyke was driven by deep anti-police hatred fueled by years of consuming anti-police, misconduct, and First Amendment auditor YouTube videos, viewing officers as lacking integrity and unaccountable, compounded by sovereign citizen ideology and grievances like the Elijah McClain case and his own past conviction. He specifically targeted Arvada Police Department officers, ambushing Officer Gordon Beesley after luring police via a welfare check call from his brother, as stated in notes including “My goal today is to kill Arvada PD officers” and “I just hope I don’t die without killing any of you pigs,” prompting an FBI domestic terrorism investigation. His writings framed “we the people” now as enemies of tyrannical police, reflecting a worldview warped by online radicalization and personal isolation.
Target: Arvada Police Department officers, specifically ambushed veteran Officer Gordon Beesley because he wore the uniform and badge, as part of a deliberate plan to kill as many APD officers as possible due to perceived corruption, lack of accountability, and influenced by national anti-police narratives.
Key Sources: Police1 / Denver Post, Colorado Sun, CPR, Westword, Fox News
47. Nathan Allen
Date: 2021-06-26
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Nathan Allen, driven by white supremacist ideology evidenced in his journals like “The Allen Diaries,” expressed beliefs in white racial superiority, called racism “good and natural,” and stated “Killing shitskins is in our blood. We need to do it.” Two days before the attack, he penned hateful diatribes against Black and Jewish people, referencing The Turner Diaries. After crashing a stolen truck, he selectively targeted and killed the first Black individuals he encountered—Ramona Cooper and David Green—while ignoring white passersby, fulfilling his violent racial hatred.
Target: Black bystanders Ramona Cooper (60, Air Force veteran) and David Green (68, retired state trooper), selected because they were Black; Allen passed several white people without attacking but shot Cooper three times in the back and Green seven times upon encountering them.
Key Sources: ADL Murder and Extremism Report 2021, Suffolk DA Press Release, Boston Globe
48. Benjamin Jeffrey Smith
Date: 2022-02-19
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: anti-leftist / white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Mapping Note: Anti-leftist / white supremacist. Primary motivation was white supremacist ideology.
Motivation Summary: Benjamin Jeffrey Smith was driven by extreme hostility toward leftists, whom he dehumanized as non-human ‘communists’ deserving death, amplified by COVID mandates, antisemitic conspiracies (e.g., ‘Are we burning Jews today?’, Christianity as Jewish control), racism (n-word usage), and misogyny (women as child-minded communist voters). He targeted racial justice protesters gathering near his home in Portland as they represented BLM/Antifa ‘communists,’ yelling slurs and shooting after de-escalation failed, acting on posts advocating violence as the only way to win a ‘civil war.’ No formal manifesto, but online posts under ‘Polybun’ justified killing leftists.
Target: Racial justice protesters (including peacekeepers directing traffic) near Normandale Park protesting police killings of Black men (Amir Locke, Patrick Kimmons); targeted for perceived association with BLM, Antifa, and communism, as they gathered on his block.
Key Sources: ADL Report, ADL Blog, Wikipedia, OPB
49. Payton S. Gendron
Date: 2022-05-14
Fatalities: 10
Ideology Category: white supremacist / eco-fascist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: “Invasion,” the Great Replacement, and Eco-Fascism
Mapping Note: CATO classifies as “white supremacist / Right” but Gendron’s manifesto reveals a syncretic ideology. He described himself on the political compass as “mild-moderate authoritarian left,” preferred to be called “a populist,” said he was “deep into communist ideology” at age 12, called conservatism “corporatism in disguise” (echoing Tarrant), and identified as an “ethno-nationalist eco-fascist national socialist.” Asked if he was right-wing or left-wing, he answered “Depending on the definition, sure” to both. Radicalized on 4chan and the Daily Stormer, not through any mainstream political figure.
Motivation Summary: Payton Gendron was driven by a syncretic ideology combining white supremacist Great Replacement theory with eco-fascist, anti-capitalist, and authoritarian-left politics. He believed high-fertility Black “replacers” were ethnically displacing whites and needed to be stopped through violence. He targeted the Tops supermarket in Buffalo’s 14208 ZIP code to maximize Black fatalities, stating his goals as “Kill as many blacks as possible” and “Spread ideals.” His 180-page manifesto, heavily modeled on Brenton Tarrant’s, justified the attack to terrorize non-whites, inspire copycats, and spark a race war. Critically, Gendron described himself on the political compass as “mild-moderate authoritarian left,” called himself an “ethno-nationalist eco-fascist national socialist,” said conservatism is “corporatism in disguise,” was virulently antisemitic (blaming Jews for controlling banks and orchestrating replacement), and was radicalized entirely through 4chan and fringe websites like the Daily Stormer — not through any mainstream political figure or party.
Target: Black shoppers and people at the Tops Friendly Markets supermarket in Buffalo’s predominantly Black East Side neighborhood (ZIP 14208), selected for its high density of Black residents closest to his home to maximize Black casualties and demonstrate violence against “replacers.”
Key Sources: Wikipedia, DOJ Criminal Complaint, Montclair Academic Analysis, ADL Report
50. David Wenwei Chou
Date: 2022-05-15
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: pro-China unification / anti-Taiwan independence
CATO Ideology: Foreign nationalism
Analysis Section: N/A — Foreign nationalism
Motivation Summary: David Wenwei Chou, a second-generation waishengren born in Taiwan who viewed Taiwanese as part of a unified China, attacked elderly members of the pro-independence Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church out of hatred for Taiwan independence supporters, whom he called ‘pro-independence demons.’ Handwritten notes in his vehicle expressed his belief that Taiwan should not be independent from China, and he authored a manifesto titled ‘Diary of the Independence-Slaying Angel’ mailed to a newspaper. He targeted the church luncheon after mingling with attendees, chaining doors shut to trap them, driven by lifelong grievances from his upbringing and recent personal decline.
Target: Elderly Taiwanese-American congregants (pro-Taiwan independence) at a luncheon for the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, selected as representatives of the Taiwanese community supporting independence from China, a view Chou vehemently opposed.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, PBS News, LA Times
51. Douglas K. Uhde
Date: 2022-06-03
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-government extremist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Sovereign Citizens and Other Anti-Government Extremism
Mapping Note: Anti-government extremist who targeted a retired judge. No mainstream rhetorical pipeline.
Motivation Summary: Douglas K. Uhde, driven by deep-seated grievances against the judicial and governmental systems stemming from his 2005 sentencing by Judge Roemer to six years for armed burglary and weapons charges, targeted the retired judge in a personal act of retribution that expanded into broader anti-authority violence. His hit list included not only Roemer and other judicial figures but also prominent politicians like Gov. Tony Evers, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, reflecting his antigovernment worldview fueled by years of legal failures, prison time, and radicalization. Social media posts revealed pro-Trump sentiments, fears of gun confiscation, FEMA camps, election conspiracies involving George Soros, and violent rhetoric against Democrats like Hillary Clinton, portraying a “grievance collector” ideology blending personal vendetta with far-right extremism.
Target: Retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer, targeted primarily for sentencing Uhde to prison in 2005 on armed burglary and firearm charges, symbolizing the authority figures Uhde despised; the attack extended to a hit list of other judicial personnel and politicians across parties due to his overarching hatred of government and the legal system.
Key Sources: ABC News, CNN, Daily Kos, Newsweek
52. Anderson Lee Aldrich
Date: 2022-11-19
Fatalities: 5
Ideology Category: neo-Nazi / anti-LGBTQ
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Mapping Note: Neo-Nazi / anti-LGBTQ. Club Q shooting. Primary ideology was neo-Nazi; anti-LGBTQ targeting was an expression of that broader ideology.
Motivation Summary: Anderson Lee Aldrich was driven by neo-Nazi ideology and hatred toward the LGBTQ community, as evidenced by running a neo-Nazi website featuring accelerationist white supremacist videos, posting images of rifle scopes on gay pride parades, using gay and racial slurs online while gaming, and practicing on rainbow-colored shooting targets. Aldrich premeditated the attack on Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub known as a safe space, after visiting it multiple times (possibly under maternal coercion), drawing maps of the venue, and studying mass shootings. The attack was classified as bias-motivated hate crimes, with Aldrich pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges admitting partial motivation by victims’ sexual orientation and gender identity.
Target: Club Q, an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs serving as a sanctuary for the queer community, was targeted due to Aldrich’s bias against LGBTQ people, evidenced by prior reconnaissance visits, hate speech, and symbols like rainbow targets.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, NPR, CBS News, Colorado Sun, ADL Report
53. Audrey Elizabeth Hale
Date: 2023-03-27
Fatalities: 6
Ideology Category: mass shooter seeking notoriety (Columbine-inspired) / transgender identity grievance
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “Genocidal Campaign”: Transgender Rights
Mapping Note: The original AI research emphasized Hale’s Columbine-inspired notoriety-seeking, which was a significant motivational factor. However, Hale was a transgender individual who attacked a Christian school, and leaked writings reflected rage against “white privileged” children at a Christian institution — consistent with the increasingly extreme rhetoric about Christian conservatives as existential threats to transgender people. The attack occurred three weeks after California State Senator Scott Wiener described anti-trans policies as a “genocidal campaign.” The analysis discusses Hale in the transgender rights section because the target selection (Christian school) and context (escalating rhetoric about anti-trans “genocide”) reflect that rhetorical pipeline, even if personal notoriety-seeking was also a factor.
Motivation Summary: Audrey Hale was driven primarily by a desire for notoriety and infamy akin to the Columbine shooters, whom she idolized as ‘gods,’ believing her death needed to matter through a high body count of at least 10-40 victims, especially children to maximize impact. She targeted The Covenant School, her happy childhood alma mater, due to its geographic isolation allowing more kill time, the meekness of young Christian students unlikely to resist, and greater media attention as a private Christian institution, while avoiding perceptions of racism by not choosing a majority-Black school. Despite personal grievances like isolation, bullying, and mental health struggles (depression, anxiety), she held no specific grudges against victims or the school, viewing them as innocents necessary for her legacy; her writings aimed to document struggles, showcase planning, and inspire copycats among the ‘mentally disordered.’ Leaked pages revealed rage against ‘white privileged’ children.
Target: The Covenant School (private Christian elementary), specifically young children (older than 7 to ‘understand’ her act), selected for high notoriety via school shooting of kids, low resistance from meek students, personal familiarity from her happy attendance there (kindergarten-4th grade), isolation for more time to kill before police response, and Christian affiliation for added media attention; no individual grudges, victims seen as innocents.
Key Sources: Nashville Police Investigative Summary, CNN Report on Motivations, Leaked Manifesto Coverage
54. Mauricio Martinez Garcia
Date: 2023-05-06
Fatalities: 8
Ideology Category: neo-Nazi / white supremacist / incel
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Mauricio Martinez Garcia, a self-radicalized neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and incel, posted hateful content against Jews, women, and racial minorities on Odnoklassniki, praised other mass shooters, and fantasized about race wars and societal collapse. He scouted the Allen Premium Outlets mall weeks in advance, posting photos and peak hour data, timing his indiscriminate attack for maximum casualties while wearing an RWDS (”Right Wing Death Squad”) patch and displaying Nazi tattoos. Despite extensive online evidence of his ideology, authorities stated no clear specific motive was identified, though his actions aligned with far-right extremist ideation.
Target: Shoppers at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Texas, selected for its high foot traffic during peak hours to maximize casualties; the shooting appeared indiscriminate, killing people of various ages, races (including Asian and Hispanic victims), and sexes with no specific group targeted despite his racist views.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CNN, BBC, CTC West Point
55. Ryan Christopher Palmeter
Date: 2023-08-26
Fatalities: 3
Ideology Category: white supremacist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Ryan Christopher Palmeter was driven by white supremacist ideology, explicitly seeking “total n***** death” (TND) and viewing Black people as a existential threat to whites due to their alleged lack of empathy and criminality. Inspired primarily by Brenton Tarrant, he targeted Black individuals to spark a race war and inspire further “lone wolf” attacks, positioning himself as the first step in a broader movement. His manifesto also expressed antisemitism, anti-LGBTQ+ hatred, xenophobia, and calls for killing politicians and federal agents, framing his actions as a patriotic response to societal decay.
Target: Black people in a predominantly Black neighborhood Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, selected after being deterred from Edward Waters University (HBCU), to maximize racially motivated killings as part of his white supremacist “culling” agenda.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, ADL, Action News Jax
56. Thomas Matthew Crooks
Date: 2024-07-13
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-government / political violence
CATO Ideology: Unknown/Other
Analysis Section: N/A — Foreign nationalism
Motivation Summary: Thomas Matthew Crooks espoused anti-government views and political violence in social media posts from 2019-2020, including a call for ‘terrorism style attacks’ on essential buildings and assassinations of politicians and military leaders, quoting Mao Zedong on power from the barrel of a gun. Despite researching both Trump and Biden events and viewing the Trump rally as a target of opportunity, no clear ideological alignment or specific justification for targeting Trump was identified by the FBI, which concluded its investigation in November 2025 with motive unknown. FBI found preliminary evidence of antisemitic and anti-immigration themes, but Crooks’ mixed political signals (Republican registration, small ActBlue donation) and lack of manifesto left his worldview ambiguous.
Target: Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, selected as a high-profile political event and target of opportunity after Crooks registered for it and researched rally details, podium location, and historical assassinations like JFK; unclear why Trump specifically over other figures like Biden whom he also researched.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, NY Post
57. Luigi Mangione
Date: 2024-12-04
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-corporate (health insurance industry)
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “Deny, Defend, Depose”: Healthcare
Motivation Summary: Luigi Mangione targeted UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson due to deep grievances against the health insurance industry, viewing it as parasitic corporations exploiting Americans for profit through claim denials and high costs despite poor life expectancy outcomes. In his manifesto and diary, he justified the precise assassination at an investor conference as necessary to broadcast a clear message against corporate greed, rejecting bombings to avoid innocents and drawing lessons from the Unabomber’s mistakes in alienating public support. He selected UnitedHealthcare as the largest player symbolizing systemic corruption, aiming to intimidate the industry and spark public awareness.
Target: Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare (largest U.S. health insurer), targeted as a symbol of the “greed-fueled health insurance cartel” during his company’s investor conference to maximize message impact and expose industry practices like “delay, deny, depose.”
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CNN, Newsweek, AS USA
58. Shamsud-Din Jabbar
Date: 2025-01-01
Fatalities: 14
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Foreign nationalism
Motivation Summary: Shamsud-Din Jabbar, self-radicalized after the 2023 Gaza war, pledged allegiance to ISIS in videos posted hours before the attack, stating he joined earlier that year and aimed to highlight the ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers.’ Initially planning a family ‘celebration’ to witness killing apostates, he shifted to a public attack on Bourbon Street for media attention to his jihadist cause. The FBI confirmed he was ‘100% inspired by ISIS’ in this premeditated domestic terrorism, with no foreign direction.
Target: Crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street, New Orleans, selected as a high-visibility site of Western vice (alcohol, partying) during celebrations to maximize casualties and media impact in advancing ISIS-inspired jihad against disbelievers.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, CNN, NYT, FBI via Fox26
59. Solomon Sahmad Charlie Henderson
Date: 2025-01-22
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: white supremacist / accelerationist / nihilistic extremist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Solomon Henderson, a self-hating Black teenager radicalized online, embraced white supremacist, antisemitic, and accelerationist ideologies from Terrorgram, Christchurch manifesto, and gore sites like WatchPeopleDie, while idolizing mass shooters and expressing desires for societal collapse through violence. He targeted his diverse high school cafeteria to kill at least 10 students during lunch for maximum impact and infamy, livestreaming the attack as part of his “shootercore” fandom, though paranoia forced a rushed execution of a scaled-down plan from his original bomb-assisted vision. His 51-page manifesto and 288-page diary detailed racist rants (”the only good nr is a dead nr, which includes me”; “race mixing is a sin against God”), praise for neo-Nazi killers, self-hatred (”I wish I was white”), and personal grievances like alleged maternal abuse, justifying mass murder as a path to notoriety in extremist communities.
Target: Antioch High School cafeteria students (diverse body, majority Hispanic/Black); selected for high-casualty lunch potential, familiarity as his own school, and to target peers/race he hated, aiming for 10+ kills to emulate mass shooters.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, NewsChannel5 Diary, Police1 ADL Timeline, Tennessean
60. Nikita Casap
Date: 2025-02-11
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: white supremacist accelerationist neo-Nazi
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: White Supremacy
Motivation Summary: Nikita Casap, influenced by Terrorgram and Order of Nine Angles, authored a manifesto titled “Accelerate the Collapse” advocating Trump’s assassination to incite chaos, foment a political revolution, and save the white race from Jewish-controlled politicians. He killed his parents to obtain financial resources and autonomy for this plot, communicating with Russian speakers via Telegram about fleeing to Ukraine post-attack. His writings promoted accelerationism, praising Hitler and neo-Nazi materials to hasten societal collapse for a white ethno-state.
Target: His mother Tatiana Casap (35) and stepfather Donald Mayer (51) were targeted purely for financial gain—their murder provided cash, IDs, vehicle, gun, and other assets needed to fund and enable the planned Trump assassination and subsequent escape.
Key Sources: PBS Frontline, FOX6 News, Law & Crime, ProPublica
61. Elias Rodriguez
Date: 2025-05-21
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: pro-Palestinian extremist
CATO Ideology (primary): Left
Analysis Section: “Genocide in Gaza”: Anti-Israel
CATO Ideology (secondary): Foreign nationalism
Motivation Summary: Elias Rodriguez carried out the shooting to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he described as genocide with tens of thousands killed, arguing that nonviolent protests had failed and armed action was now morally justified and the “only sane thing to do,” as detailed in his manifesto “Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home.” He targeted Israeli embassy staff leaving a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum, shouting “Free Palestine” and “I did it for Gaza” to bring attention to Palestinian suffering and coerce policy change. His worldview framed perpetrators of the alleged genocide as accountable monsters despite their humanity, inspired by figures like Aaron Bushnell and historical attempts to confront war criminals.
Target: Israeli Embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a couple leaving an American Jewish Committee Young Diplomats Reception at the Capital Jewish Museum, targeted as representatives of Israel—”genocidaires”—to escalate the Gaza conflict domestically, intimidate, and influence U.S. policy on the war.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, ADL, Ken Klippenstein
62. Mohamed Sabry Soliman
Date: 2025-06-01
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: pro-Palestinian / anti-Zionist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Mohamed Sabry Soliman targeted a pro-Israel solidarity walk in Boulder, Colorado, shouting “Free Palestine!” and “end Zionist” while throwing Molotov cocktails, driven by hatred for Zionists whom he accused of taking over “our land” (Palestine). In post-arrest interviews, he admitted planning the attack for a year after researching the “Run For Their Lives” group online, stating he “wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead,” and that he “would do it again” to stop them. He distinguished his grievance against Zionists supporting what he saw as killings on Palestinian land, not the Jewish community generally, and left messages for his family plus a journal at home.
Target: Pro-Israel demonstrators from “Run For Their Lives” walking to raise awareness for Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza; targeted because Soliman identified them as a “Zionist group” supporting Israeli actions in Palestine, which he believed were taking over “our land.”
Key Sources: Wikipedia, DOJ Affidavit, CNN, BBC
63. Vance Luther Boelter
Date: 2025-06-14
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: anti-abortion extremist
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: “Murder of the Unborn”: Abortion
Motivation Summary: Vance Luther Boelter, a right-wing evangelical Christian and Trump supporter with strong anti-abortion views, targeted Democratic Minnesota legislators and abortion rights advocates, compiling a list of nearly 70 names including officials like Melissa Hortman (killed), John Hoffman (wounded), Amy Klobuchar, and Tina Smith, obtained via data brokers. His notebooks detailed surveillance and planning, while a rambling letter to the FBI falsely claimed Gov. Tim Walz ordered him to assassinate senators for political gain, dismissed by prosecutors as delusional fantasy intended to misdirect. Authorities described the attacks as targeted political violence and assassinations to intimidate legislators, though no coherent manifesto explained his grievances beyond apparent opposition to Democratic policies on abortion and governance.
Target: Democratic state legislators (e.g., Rep. Melissa Hortman and husband Mark, killed; Sen. John Hoffman and wife Yvette, wounded) and their families, plus broader list of ~70 Democrats, abortion providers, and advocates (e.g., Sens. Klobuchar/Smith, Reps. Omar/Craig), selected for their pro-abortion rights stances and political roles, impersonating police to gain access to homes.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, Star Tribune, CBS News, DOJ
64. Patrick Joseph White
Date: 2025-08-08
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-vaccine conspiracy
CATO Ideology: Right
Analysis Section: Anti-Vaccine Extremism: The CDC Shooting
Mapping Note: Patrick Joseph White targeted the CDC over belief that the COVID-19 vaccine was “meant to indiscriminately murder as many as possible.” Anti-vaccine rhetoric has been amplified by figures now associated with the Republican Party, particularly RFK Jr. (now Trump’s HHS Secretary), and Trump administration officials directed hostile rhetoric toward the CDC. However, the COVID-19 vaccine was developed and fast-tracked under Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, RFK Jr. was a lifelong Democrat, and anti-vaccine sentiment has deep bipartisan roots. White’s radicalization occurred through online conspiracy content, not elected officials’ speeches. No elected official called for attacking the CDC. The case resists left-right classification. CATO classifies as Right.
Motivation Summary: Patrick Joseph White was driven by a deep-seated belief that the COVID-19 vaccine had caused him personal harm, including depression, suicidal thoughts, weight loss, and other health issues, as detailed in written documents found at his home and expressed to neighbors. He targeted the CDC headquarters, the agency responsible for vaccine promotion and public health policy, to raise public awareness of his discontent with the vaccine and make a statement against it. No formal manifesto or social media posts were publicly released, but his writings served as a personal declaration of grievance, blending mental health struggles with anti-vaccine conspiracy views.
Target: CDC headquarters in Atlanta and responding police; the CDC as the federal agency overseeing vaccine recommendations and COVID-19 response, symbolizing the vaccine program he blamed for his suffering; a DeKalb County police officer (David Rose) was killed while responding.
Key Sources: NBC News, GBI Press Release, Mother Jones, Fox News
65. Robin M. Westman
Date: 2025-08-27
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: nihilistic mass shooter (antisemitic, anti-Catholic hate, obsession with prior attackers)
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “Genocidal Campaign”: Transgender Rights (partial)
Mapping Note: Robin Westman was transgender (legally changed name from Robert to Robin, identified as female) and targeted a Catholic school — paralleling Hale’s attack on a Christian school. Diary entries included a “defend equality” LGBTQ+ sticker and anti-Trump messages. However, primary motivation appears to have been nihilistic mass-shooter emulation: Westman idolized attackers across ideological lines (Lanza, Tarrant, Breivik), expressed incoherent hatreds toward multiple groups, and explicitly stated “the message is there is no message.” Discussed in the analysis’s transgender rights section as part of a concerning pattern (two transgender shooters at Christian institutions within two years amid rhetoric about genocidal persecution), but with honest acknowledgment that the causal connection is weaker than with Hale. CATO classifies as Left.
Motivation Summary: Robin M. Westman was driven by long-standing homicidal and suicidal fantasies, particularly an obsession with mass shootings and killing children, idolizing attackers like Adam Lanza (Sandy Hook), Brenton Tarrant (Christchurch anti-Muslim massacre), and Anders Breivik (anti-Muslim Norwegian mass murderer), with inscriptions like “Hail Breivik Hail Brenton” on weapons. Despite incoherent hatreds toward Jews, Catholics, Trump, and various races/ethnicities scrawled on weapons, Westman explicitly denied a religious or ideological message (’the message is there is no message’), framing the attack as an uncontrollable act amid severe depression. The former Annunciation student targeted the school’s first Mass for maximum child casualties, scouting it as an ‘easy’ high-impact site due to familiarity from attendance and family ties. The timed YouTube manifesto/video showed Cyrillic journals planning the attack and weapon displays with slurs/names of shooters.
Target: Children and parishioners at Annunciation Catholic School/Church Mass (former school Westman attended; mother worked there), selected for personal familiarity, large group of vulnerable children during first-week back-to-school service, narrow windows allowing indiscriminate fire without entry risk, maximizing fatalities/terror/chaos.
Key Sources: Minneapolis PD, Wikipedia, Le Monde, CTG Analysis, CNN, MPAC, NY Post
66. Tyler James Robinson
Date: 2025-09-10
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: left-wing extremist (pro-LGBTQ+, anti-conservative)
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “Genocidal Campaign”: Transgender Rights / “Enemies of Democracy”: Fascism
Mapping Note: Tyler Robinson’s attack reflected both trans-rights rhetoric (his transgender partner, distress about anti-trans sentiment) and anti-fascist rhetoric (bullets inscribed “Hey fascist! Catch!”). Discussed in both analysis sections.
Motivation Summary: Tyler James Robinson, who had shifted to left-leaning views supporting gay and trans rights in opposition to his conservative family, targeted Charlie Kirk because he perceived Kirk as spreading irreconcilable hatred through his conservative political expression, particularly on LGBTQ+ issues. He planned the sniper attack for over a week, leaving a note stating “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” and confessed post-attack: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out” and “there is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate.” Bullet casings bore anti-fascist and meme messages like “hey fascist! CATCH!” and “O Bella ciao,” blending ideology with internet culture.
Target: Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA known for criticism of LGBTQ+ rights and progressive views, speaking at Utah Valley University; targeted specifically for his political expression and perceived spreading of hate against gay/trans rights.
Key Sources: Utah County Charging Information, Wikipedia: Assassination of Charlie Kirk, Reuters Court Update, Tyler Robinson Affidavit (Fox News)
67. Hunter Nadeau
Date: 2025-09-20
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: anti-elite/class resentment
CATO Ideology: Foreign nationalism
Analysis Section: N/A — Unknown/Other
Motivation Summary: Hunter Nadeau carried out the attack to punish wealthy ‘elites’ for not helping the poor and taking all the money, confessing to police that he was tired of social inequality. He selected the members-only PRIME steakhouse at Sky Meadow Country Club, where he had previously worked as a server, because he knew affluent members dined there, while avoiding a nearby wedding to spare ‘civilians.’ He fired indiscriminately, not targeting specific individuals but indifferent to causing deaths, after initially planning suicide; a note outlining his intentions was found at his apartment.
Target: Affluent patrons (’elites’ and wealthy members) dining at the exclusive PRIME steakhouse inside Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, NH, because they represented the rich who were not helping the poor; he chose the location due to his prior employment there and knowledge of its wealthy clientele, killing Robert Steven DeCesare (59) and injuring others.
Key Sources: Fox News, NHPR, Boston Globe, Boston 25 News
68. Joshua Jahn
Date: 2025-09-24
Fatalities: 2
Ideology Category: anti-government (anti-ICE)
CATO Ideology: Left
Analysis Section: “Concentration Camps”: ICE
Motivation Summary: Joshua Jahn targeted ICE agents due to his belief that their work constituted ‘human trafficking’ and that they were ‘showing up to collect a dirty paycheck’; he explicitly sought to ‘cause terror’ among ICE personnel nationwide while minimizing harm to detainees. His handwritten notes and ‘ANTI-ICE’ markings on ammunition revealed premeditated planning over months, including using tracking apps and downloading facility lists, but no broader ideological affiliations or manifesto were found. Tragically, he killed two detainees and wounded a third instead of agents due to firing into a transport van.
Target: ICE agents and facility (intended to kill agents to terrorize them and disrupt operations; detainees hit unintentionally as collateral in transport van)
Key Sources: Wikipedia, KERA News, NY Times, CBS News
69. Thomas Jacob Sanford
Date: 2025-09-28
Fatalities: 4
Ideology Category: anti-Mormon
CATO Ideology: Unknown/Other
Analysis Section: N/A — Unknown/Other
Motivation Summary: Thomas Jacob Sanford, driven by long-standing animosity toward the LDS Church stemming from a failed relationship with a Mormon woman over a decade ago in Utah, repeatedly referred to Mormons as ‘the antichrist’ and expressed standard anti-LDS rhetoric in conversations. He targeted a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse during Sunday services, ramming his truck into the building, shooting worshippers, and setting it ablaze to maximize harm. The FBI classified the attack as targeted violence motivated by anti-religious hatred against the Mormon faith, with no evidence of broader political ideology despite some Trump support.
Target: Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS/Mormons) during Sunday worship services at the Grand Blanc Stake Center in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, due to his personal grudge and belief that they were ‘the antichrist’ and a threat.
Key Sources: Wikipedia, The Telegraph, CNN Live Blog
70. Rahmanullah Lakanwal
Date: 2025-11-26
Fatalities: 1
Ideology Category: jihadist
CATO Ideology: Islamism
Analysis Section: N/A — Islamist
Motivation Summary: Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a former CIA-backed Afghan Zero Unit commando who fought the Taliban, allegedly drove cross-country from Washington state to ambush National Guard members near the White House, shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ while firing, suggesting jihadist radicalization after arriving in the US. Possible ties to Tablighi Jamaat, a Deobandi group known as a jihadist waystation, amid reports of mental health decline, isolation, manic episodes, and possible post-traumatic stress from his violent past. No manifesto or explicit posts found, but investigators probe radicalization in his US community and links to extremist networks despite no confirmed terror group affiliation.
Target: West Virginia National Guard members on duty near the White House (Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, killed; Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, wounded), targeted in an ambush-style attack possibly symbolizing retaliation against US military symbols, influenced by perceived betrayal after US withdrawal from Afghanistan or radicalized anti-Western jihadist ideology.
Key Sources: New York Post, Fox News, CBS News
Appendix Tally by Analysis Section
The following tallies count killers and fatalities from CATO’s dataset only (2011-2025). Attackers discussed in the analysis who are not in CATO’s dataset (e.g., Hodgkinson, Routh, Abdallahi, Soliman, Lakeem Keon Scott) are not included in these counts. Robinson (#66) is counted once under Transgender Rights despite being discussed in both the Trans Rights and Fascism sections.
The “Corrected” column reflects the analysis’s assessment of whether mainstream elected officials’ rhetoric is connected to the violence in that category, based on the four-dimension framework (Extremity, Inaccuracy, Mainstream adoption, Connection to violence).
Left-Wing (per CATO classification)
Right-Wing (per CATO classification)
Summary
The central finding inverts CATO’s headline conclusion. When you ask which violence is actually connected to mainstream elected officials’ rhetoric, the left accounts for 21 to 30 killings (depending on whether the partial transgender connection is included); the right accounts for 5.
Note: The analysis discusses additional attackers not in CATO’s dataset (Hodgkinson, Routh, Scott, Abdallahi, Soliman) who are included in the analysis’s narrative but not in these counts. Robinson (#66) is counted once under Transgender Rights despite being discussed in both the Trans Rights and Fascism sections. Dorner is excluded from the policing tally (personal vendetta, not ideologically motivated). Healthcare and Black Supremacism are excluded from totals (Connected to Violence = No). The January 6th Capitol breach involved a mob but no individual CATO-listed killers; rioters killed no one.