The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the past and present terrorism in the United States:
Although terrorism has taken on several different definitions, it is most commonly defined as the use of violence to achieve political means.
The following are political extremist groups that have used violence:
Alpha 66Animal Liberation FrontArmy of God (USA)Aryan NationsEarth Liberation FrontJewish Defense LeagueKu Klux KlanPhineas PriesthoodThe following are violent extremist organizations that have been responsible for terrorist attacks on United States soil. These organizations are no longer active.
The following is a list of terrorist attacks that have happened throughout United States history, which were committed by United States citizens.
May 21, 1856: Sacking of LawrenceMay 24, 1856 – May 25, 1856: Pottawatomie massacreSeptember 11, 1857: Mountain Meadows massacreApril 14, 1865: Assassination of Abraham LincolnMay 4, 1886: Haymarket affairSeptember 6, 1901: Assassination of William McKinleyOctober 1, 1910: Los Angeles Times bombingJuly 22, 1916: Preparedness Day bombingMay-July, 1917: lynchings and burning of East St. Louis.May-October, 1919: lynchings and burned homes in 36 cities during Red Summer of 1919April–June 1919: 1919 United States anarchist bombingsSeptember 16, 1920: Wall Street bombingMay 31 – June 1, 1921: burning of Black Wall StreetJanuary, 1923: razing and massacre of RosewoodMay 18, 1927: Bath School DisasterOctober 12, 1958: Bombing of the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation TempleSeptember 15, 1963: 16th Street Baptist Church BombingAugust 24, 1970: Sterling Hall bombingNovember 7, 1983: 1983 U.S. Senate bombingApril 19, 1995: Oklahoma City bombingJuly 27, 1996: Centennial Olympic Park bombingOctober 13, 2000: Firebombing of Temple Beth El (Syracuse)September 2001: anthrax attacksMay 2002: Mailbox Pipe Bombing – Luke HelderOctober 2002: Beltway Sniper AttacksMarch 3, 2006: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar SUV attackJuly 28, 2006: Seattle Jewish Federation shootingJuly 27, 2008: Knoxville Unitarian Universalist church shootingMay 31, 2009: Assassination of George TillerJune 10, 2009: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shootingNovember 5, 2009: Fort Hood shootingFebruary 18, 2010: 2010 Austin suicide attackSeptember 1, 2010: Discovery Communications headquarters hostage crisisAugust 5, 2012: Wisconsin Sikh temple shootingApril 15, 2013: Boston Marathon bombingJune 17, 2015: Charleston church shootingNovember 27, 2015: Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shootingDecember 2, 2015: San Bernardino attackJune 12, 2016: Orlando nightclub shootingSeptember 17–19, 2016: New York and New Jersey bombingsThe following are terrorist attacks that have occurred throughout United States history, which have been committed by foreign organizations and individuals.
July 30, 1916: Black Tom explosionDecember 29, 1975: LaGuardia Airport Christmas BombAugust 29 – October 10, 1984: 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attackJanuary 25, 1993: CIA Shooting – Mir QaziFebruary 26, 1993: First World Trade Center bombingFebruary 23, 1997: Empire State Building shootingSeptember 2000: 2000 New York terror attackSeptember 11, 2001: September 11, 2001 attacksJuly 4, 2002: 2002 Los Angeles Airport shootingJune 1, 2009: 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shootingThe following are individuals that have posed threats to United States security in the past, or have been involved in terrorist attacks.
Umar Farouk AbdulmutallabJane AlpertDwight ArmstrongKarleton ArmstrongMohamed AttaAnwar al-AwlakiH. Rap BrownJames Wenneker von BrunnLeo BurtZvonko BušićZachary Adam ChesserLinda EvansDavid FineHesham Mohamed HadayetNidal Malik HasanBruce E. IvinsTed KaczynskiAli Hassan Abu KamalOsama Bin LadenColleen LaRoseJames J. LeeTimothy McVeighSam MelvilleGeorge MeteskyThomas MooneyJohn Allen MuhammadTerry NicholsJosé PadillaAimal QaziEric Robert RudolphDawud SalahuddinAl-ShabaabFaisal ShahzadHosam Maher Husein SmadiMohammed Reza Taheri-azarLaura WhitehornRamzi YousefThe following are common worldviews that have motivated political activists to utilize violence.
anarchistcommunistconservativeethnicguerrillaIslamic Extremism in the United StatesIslamic fundamentalistsfar leftfar rightMarxistmilitia movementmilitantnationalistneo-ludditeneo-NaziNew Leftparamilitaryrebelreligiousresistance movementsrevolutionaryseparatistwhite supremacistvigilanteThe following is a list of techniques that have been utilized by politically violent individuals in terrorist attacks.
agro-terrorismarsonassassinationbioterrorismbombingcar bombingchemical weaponscyberterrorismdirty bombdry runenvironmentalfirebombingfood poisoninghijackinghostageindividual terrorinsurgencykidnappingletter bombpaper terrorismpiracyproxy bombshootingsuicide bombingThe following is a list of federal organizations in the United States that combat terrorism according to The U.S. Department of State's website.
Bureau of Consular AffairsBureau of Diplomatic SecurityBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and LaborBureau of Economic, Energy, and Business AffairsBureau of Intelligence and ResearchBureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement AffairsBureau of International Security and NonproliferationBureau of Political-Military AffairsForeign Service InstituteUnder Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public AffairsUnited States Mission to the United NationsDefense Intelligence AgencyThe War on TerrorOffice of Foreign Assets ControlOffice of Terrorism and Financial IntelligenceFederal Bureau of InvestigationFBI Most Wanted TerroristsDepartment of Homeland Security
Coast GuardCustoms and Border ProtectionAir Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness DirectorateImmigration and Customs EnforcementTransportation Security AdministrationU.S. Secret ServiceCentral Intelligence AgencyOffice of the Director of National IntelligenceNational Counterterrorism CenterAgency for International DevelopmentThe following are other United States counter-terrorism agencies according to various sources.
Air Force Office of Special InvestigationsCounterintelligence Field ActivityDefense Criminal Investigative ServiceDiplomatic Security ServiceNaval Criminal Investigative ServiceNational Counterterrorism Center (as part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence) Office of the National Counterintelligence ExecutiveUnited States Army CounterintelligenceUnited States Army Intelligence and Security Command