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 66
Animal Liberation Front
Army of God (USA)
Aryan Nations
Earth Liberation Front
Jewish Defense League
Ku Klux Klan
Phineas Priesthood
The 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 These organizations are no longer active.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 Lawrence
May 24, 1856 – May 25, 1856: Pottawatomie massacre
September 11, 1857: Mountain Meadows massacre
April 14, 1865: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
May 4, 1886: Haymarket affair
September 6, 1901: Assassination of William McKinley
October 1, 1910: Los Angeles Times bombing
July 22, 1916: Preparedness Day bombing
May-July, 1917: lynchings and burning of East St. Louis.
May-October, 1919: lynchings and burned homes in 36 cities during Red Summer of 1919
April–June 1919: 1919 United States anarchist bombings
September 16, 1920: Wall Street bombing
May 31 – June 1, 1921: burning of Black Wall Street
January, 1923: razing and massacre of Rosewood
May 18, 1927: Bath School Disaster
October 12, 1958: Bombing of the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple
September 15, 1963: 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
August 24, 1970: Sterling Hall bombing
November 7, 1983: 1983 U.S. Senate bombing
April 19, 1995: Oklahoma City bombing
July 27, 1996: Centennial Olympic Park bombing
October 13, 2000: Firebombing of Temple Beth El (Syracuse)
September 2001: anthrax attacks
May 2002: Mailbox Pipe Bombing – Luke Helder
October 2002: Beltway Sniper Attacks
March 3, 2006: Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar SUV attack
July 28, 2006: Seattle Jewish Federation shooting
July 27, 2008: Knoxville Unitarian Universalist church shooting
May 31, 2009: Assassination of George Tiller
June 10, 2009: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting
November 5, 2009: Fort Hood shooting
February 18, 2010: 2010 Austin suicide attack
September 1, 2010: Discovery Communications headquarters hostage crisis
August 5, 2012: Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting
April 15, 2013: Boston Marathon bombing
June 17, 2015: Charleston church shooting
November 27, 2015: Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting
December 2, 2015: San Bernardino attack
June 12, 2016: Orlando nightclub shooting
September 17–19, 2016: New York and New Jersey bombings
The 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 explosion
December 29, 1975: LaGuardia Airport Christmas Bomb
August 29 – October 10, 1984: 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
January 25, 1993: CIA Shooting – Mir Qazi
February 26, 1993: First World Trade Center bombing
February 23, 1997: Empire State Building shooting
September 2000: 2000 New York terror attack
September 11, 2001: September 11, 2001 attacks
July 4, 2002: 2002 Los Angeles Airport shooting
June 1, 2009: 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting
The following are individuals that have posed threats to United States security in the past, or have been involved in terrorist attacks.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Jane Alpert
Dwight Armstrong
Karleton Armstrong
Mohamed Atta
Anwar al-Awlaki
H. Rap Brown
James Wenneker von Brunn
Leo Burt
Zvonko Bušić
Zachary Adam Chesser
Linda Evans
David Fine
Hesham Mohamed Hadayet
Nidal Malik Hasan
Bruce E. Ivins
Ted Kaczynski
Ali Hassan Abu Kamal
Osama Bin Laden
Colleen LaRose
James J. Lee
Timothy McVeigh
Sam Melville
George Metesky
Thomas Mooney
John Allen Muhammad
Terry Nichols
José Padilla
Aimal Qazi
Eric Robert Rudolph
Dawud Salahuddin
Al-Shabaab
Faisal Shahzad
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi
Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar
Laura Whitehorn
Ramzi Yousef
The following are common worldviews that have motivated political activists to utilize violence.
anarchist
communist
conservative
ethnic
guerrilla
Islamic Extremism in the United States
Islamic fundamentalists
far left
far right
Marxist
militia movement
militant
nationalist
neo-luddite
neo-Nazi
New Left
paramilitary
rebel
religious
resistance movements
revolutionary
separatist
white supremacist
vigilante
The following is a list of techniques that have been utilized by politically violent individuals in terrorist attacks.
agro-terrorism
arson
assassination
bioterrorism
bombing
car bombing
chemical weapons
cyberterrorism
dirty bomb
dry run
environmental
firebombing
food poisoning
hijacking
hostage
individual terror
insurgency
kidnapping
letter bomb
paper terrorism
piracy
proxy bomb
shooting
suicide bombing
The 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 Affairs
Bureau of Diplomatic Security
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs
Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Foreign Service Institute
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
United States Mission to the United Nations
Defense Intelligence Agency
The War on Terror
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBI Most Wanted Terrorists
Department of Homeland Security
Coast Guard
Customs and Border Protection
Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Transportation Security Administration
U.S. Secret Service
Central Intelligence Agency
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
National Counterterrorism Center
Agency for International Development
The following are other United States counter-terrorism agencies according to various sources.
Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Counterintelligence Field Activity
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Diplomatic Security Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
National Counterterrorism Center (as part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence)
Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive
United States Army Counterintelligence
United States Army Intelligence and Security Command
