Fear of attack by international terrorists has transformed the criminal justice system, created fear throughout the citizenry, resulted in civil rights being curtailed, and resulted in billions of...

Fear of attack by international terrorists has transformed the criminal justice system, created fear throughout the citizenry, resulted in civil rights being curtailed, and resulted in billions of dollars investments in counterterrorism programs. Public fear of an “international terrorism” attack may not be based upon reality, but upon media coverage and demagoguery by politicians. The most serious challenge to public safety may be the right-wing domestic terrorists. For example, the University of Maryland’s Global Terrorism Database documents 65 attacks in the United States associated with right-wing ideologies and only 34 by Muslim extremists since 9/11. A 2014 survey of 383 law enforcement agencies by the Police Executive Research Forum reported that 74% of departments reported the greatest threat to public safety was anti-government extremism groups such as militias, neo-Nazis, and sovereign citizens. In the past decade, right-wing extremists have been responsible for 337 attacks per year, causing a total of 254 fatalities.16 While there is great public concern regarding the radicalization of several hundred persons by violent Muslim extremists, there appears to be less concern for the thousands radicalized by right-wing extremists groups. What explains the public’s greater fear of international terrorism?