Modern Characteristics of Domestic Extremists: A Study of Extremists in the United States

The goal of this paper was to perform exploratory research on multiple aspects of individuals radicalized in the United States. Previous research on this topic had often analyzed individuals using all or most of the accumulated data on this group over the entire period of “modern-day terrorism,” while ignoring shifting changes in culture, norms, and economics in the United States. This study aims to close a part of that research gap by empirically analyzing a data sample of individuals radicalized in the United States who either were caught in the attempt or after the carrying out of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil from the PIRUS database (Profiles of Individuals Radicalized in the United States). This study explores the individual characteristics of these radicalized individuals and how they have shifted over time across an approximate 50- year period. Analyses for this study include chi-squares, loglinear analyses, ordinal logistic regression, t-test, and ANOVA. Several significant results were found. Findings indicate multiple demographic characteristics of the radicalized individual have changed in this time period, including ideology sub-type, level of education, military history, criminal history, types of catalyzing events, and mental health history. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.