Attacks by far-left extremists in US reach 20-year high, Molotov cocktails weapon of choice

Recent data has revealed that for the first time in 20 years, the majority domestic terror attacks and plots in the US against the government has come from extreme leftists, instead of from those on the right. The revelation follows a number of high-profile attacks in 2026, including the attempted assassination of President Trump and his Cabinet officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.

Data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, has revealed that overall, domestic attacks and plots against the US government have hit their highest level since at least 1994. Of the 20 attacks and plots recorded in 2025, 10 were categorized by the center as originating from the extreme left, while eight came from the extreme right. 

Of those 10 at the hands of extreme leftists, half of the incidents were aimed at immigration officers and facilities. Another attack was aimed at the Dickinson County Republican Committee Headquarters in Michigan.

While some attacks have involved weapons such as knives and guns, which the suspected WHCD gunman was in possession of at the time of his arrest, The Wall Street Journal reported, "last year’s weapon of choice was the Molotov cocktail." The incendiary device was used in at least seven attacks or plots, including an attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence, and two instances of attempts to attack immigration agents. One man said in January of 2025 that he wanted to throw Molotov cocktails at the feet of Scott Bessent, the then-Treasury Secretary nominee, while another man in California set fire to a post office. 

The report comes in the wake of Saturday’s WHCD shooting, in which the suspect, Cole Allen, had expressed in a manifesto a goal of wanting to kill Trump administration officials from highest-ranking to lowest. Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Posts to Allen’s BlueSky account showed that he was strongly opposed to Trump. Among the posts on the account was one in which he wrote, "I mean, from the epstein files that have been released, it's public knowledge that he likely IS basically a sociopathic mob boss. like that's just literally who he is. people gotta stop treating him like someone who honors agreements."

Allen claimed in another post "Trump is literally one of those villains that if you beat his ass hard enough he'll join your team. Don't really have any other insights into this," he said, quoting a post about the Iran ceasefire, "it's not really actionable cause no way schumer just canes him into acting his age, but like, it would probably work on him."