New Report Shines Light on Rising Far-Left Extremism, Warns of Potential 'Mass-Casualty Event'
A new paper studying the rise of violent, far-left extremist networks warns of the possibility of “attacks on vital infrastructure” and even a potential “mass-casualty event.”
The Network Contagion Research Institute’s report warns that militant far-left networks are instigating violence in ways that parallel Islamic terrorists.
NCRI’s alerts have proved prescient in the past: The institute released a report warning of a rise in anti-Semitic extremism shortly before the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 people dead.
The new report, which was released on Sept. 14, has received little attention but sounds alarms about far-left extremism that “appears to be rapidly growing” and facilitating real-world violence.
“[Anarcho-socialist] militias which explicitly glorify [martyr] narratives, classic authoritarian narratives, and revolutionary narratives are now formally organizing–and are growing,” the report says.
NCRI also found “evidence that both militia and anarchist networks play key roles in the recent social justice protests from controlling perimeters at CHAZ [CHOP] to coordinating [nationwide] anarchist-inspired violent protests online.”
“We find evidence that violent anarcho-socialist networks played an active online role in preparing for and coordinating real world riots [nationwide] and in real time,” the report continues.
NCRI report points to coordinated demonstrations across the country on July 25, which devolved into riots in Portland, Oregon; Richmond, Virginia; Eugene, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington.
The report says that far-left extremists have glorified Willem Van Spronsen, a self-identified antifa member who died in a shootout with police in July 2019 after attempting to burn down an immigration detention center in Washington.
While NCRI calls its report “suggestive rather than conclusive,” it says its data “hint that insurgent behavior … and even attacks on vital infrastructure may be fomenting, and even indicate the possibility of a mass-casualty event.”
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