A law professor is concerned that left wing terrorism is on the rise in the United States.
On Saturday night a lone gunman opened fire at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington.
"For a long time, the left-wing terror attacks were a thing of the 1960s and 1970s," said University of Waikato Law Professor Alexander Gillespie. "But now you're seeing a resurgence as there is a reaction against some of the right-wing leaders."
Other forms of terror attacks included right-wing and religious-based terror.
Current US president and Republican Donald Trump, who was rushed from the dinner along with wife Melania Trump, has survived two prior assassination attempts, both during his 2024 campaign, along with a number of other threats and security failures during his two terms as president.
Gillespie said "reaction" against right-wing leaders was a trend which was becoming dominant in the United States.
"I think the pendulum is now swinging towards left-wing, and unfortunately, the pendulum may have some way to swing yet," Gillespie said.
Gillespie said it was very important for political leaders on all sides of the political spectrum to now condemn the violence and discourage copycat attempts.
Authorities have not yet disclosed if Saturday's shooting was intended as a terror attack.
Who is the suspected shooter?
Law enforcement have identified the suspected shooter as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance in California.
According to US media Allen is a Caltech graduate who was working part-time teacher as a teacher for C2 Education and as a self-employed game developer.
Allen reportedly registered a trademark for an indie game called 'Bohrdom' he developed in 2018, and was developing a second game, with the working name 'First Law'."
According to Federal Election Commission records, in October 2024 Allen donated $US25 ($NZ42) to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises funds for Democrats, earmarked for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
Left-wing attacks outweighed right in 2025
In 2025, American non-profit policy research organisation the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CRIS) reported for the first time in more than 30 years left-wing terrorist attacks outnumbered those from the right.
CRIS said left-wing violence had risen in the last 10 years, particularly since Trump's rise to political prominence in 2016.
However, it said left-wing terror had risen from very low levels and remained much lower than historical levels of violence carried out by right-wing and jihadist attackers.
It said despite its decline in 2025, right-wing terrorism could easily return to previous high levels.
A 2022 study from the University of Maryland meanwhile found attacks by left-wing extremists were less likely to result in fatalities when compared to attacks by right-wing extremists.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
