The U.S. Department of Justice has quietly removed a research report on domestic terrorism from its website just days after the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah. The move has sparked questions about transparency, timing, and the politicization of terrorism data.
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What Happened
The report, published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and titled “What NIJ Research Tells Us About Domestic Terrorism”, disappeared from the DOJ’s site between September 12 and 13, according to Daniel Malmer, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was monitoring the page.
The removal came shortly after Charlie Kirk, 31, founder of Turning Point USA and a close ally of former President Donald Trump, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with Kirk’s murder. Prosecutors have already announced they will seek the death penalty. In the aftermath, Trump and other Republican leaders accused “radical left” actors of fueling violence against conservatives.
What the Study Found
The NIJ report summarized decades of federal research into domestic terrorism and offered stark findings:
- Far-right extremists were responsible for 227 ideologically motivated attacks since 1990, resulting in more than 520 deaths.
- Far-left extremists were linked to 42 attacks in the same period, causing 78 deaths.
- The report emphasized that “militant, nationalist, white supremacist violent extremism” has accounted for the majority of deadly incidents, far outpacing other categories.
The DOJ’s explanation for the removal was vague, citing “recent executive orders” and an ongoing internal review of published materials. The page now returns a standard 404 error.
Broader Context
Independent research has long echoed the findings of the now-removed report:
- A Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) study of 893 terrorist plots from 1994 to 2020 concluded that far-right groups were responsible for the majority of incidents.
- In 2023 congressional testimony, Heidi Beirich, vice president of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told lawmakers that far-right extremists represent “the deadliest threat in American domestic terrorism.”
While some violence has come from far-left actors, researchers stress that it has not matched the scale or lethality of far-right attacks.
What Happens Next
The DOJ’s decision has alarmed researchers, terrorism experts, and transparency advocates. Critics argue that removing the report—especially in the wake of a high-profile political killing—risks fueling confusion, misinformation, and partisan narratives around domestic extremism.
The Department of Justice has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
This is a developing story and may be updated as more information becomes available