By Thomas I. Likness
Eagle News Service

(Eagle News) — Extremist views appear to have sparked an increase in mass shootings in the United States according to a new report from the Ant-Defamation League.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that we live in an age of extremism,” the organization said in a report released Thursday.

The report was prepared by the group’s Committee on Extremism.

It notes that from the 1970s through to the turn of the century, domestic extremist-related mass killings in America were extremely rare.

But the league says things have changed.

“Over the past 12 years, their number has greatly increased,” the report read. “Most of these mass killings were committed by right-wing extremist, but left-wing and domestic Islamic extremists were also responsible for incidents.”

The league says nearly 60 percent of the ideological mass killings in the past dozen years have been inspired by white-supremacist propaganda that urges the attacks.

Commit murders to further their causes

Guns were used in 93% of the killings in 2022, according to the report.

“Firearms are by far the weapon of choice for domestic terrorist in the U.S. seeking to kill,” it said.

The report says domestic extremists pose significant problems in the U.S., from incitement and harassment to hate crimes and terrorism.

It adds, extremists regularly commit murders to further their causes.

The league says the main targets of white supremacist shooters are people of color, Jews and Muslims, and the LGBTQ+ community.
(Eagle News Service)