Overview

• The column argues the CSIS analysis omitted incidents it labels left-wing, citing an arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence, killings of Israeli Embassy staff in Washington, and a Boulder firebombing tied to the Israel–Palestine conflict.
• It says the report classified sabotage of Tesla facilities as economic vandalism rather than terrorism and left out violent protests against immigration enforcement in 2025.
• The critique claims such exclusions understate left-wing activity and distort comparisons with right-wing violence in the dataset.
• CSIS’s brief found left-wing terrorist attacks and plots outnumbered violent far-right incidents in early 2025, while noting that right-wing extremism has been the dominant long-term threat.
• The methodological dispute arrives as the administration directs a federal response focused on left-leaning networks and researchers warn effective policy must address threats from both ideological poles.