Domestic terrorist groups in the United States are not formally designated by the federal government the way foreign terrorist organizations are. There is no official list. Instead, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security sort ideologically motivated violence into five broad categories, and they pursue members of specific networks — neo-Nazi accelerationist cells, militia groups, sovereign citizens, Boogaloo adherents, anarchist extremists, and others — through ordinary criminal statutes, sentencing enhancements, and, in a small number of cases, executive orders that freeze assets. The threat has also shifted away from organized groups toward lone offenders who radicalize online, which is why the question of “which groups” tells only part of the story.1FBI. Terrorism Investigation
Why There Is No Official Domestic Terrorist Group List
The Secretary of State can formally designate a foreign entity as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under the Immigration and Nationality Act. No parallel process exists for domestic groups, and the reason is constitutional. The First Amendment protects domestic organizations in ways foreign entities are not protected. Under Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the government cannot punish advocacy unless it is directed at inciting imminent lawless action. Under NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware, the government cannot punish someone solely for belonging to a group that engages in both legal and illegal activity.2Harvard National Security Journal. National Security and Domestic Terrorism
Courts give the executive branch wide latitude on FTO designations because those fall under foreign affairs powers. In Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (2010), the Supreme Court upheld the material support statute in part because foreign terrorist groups are “so tainted by their criminal conduct” that any support facilitates that conduct. Domestically, the concept of “security” is looser and the risk of the tool being turned on political dissent is higher, so courts have been less willing to extend the same deference.
What exists instead is a patchwork. Federal prosecutors use general criminal statutes — conspiracy, weapons offenses, seditious conspiracy, hate crimes, material support — and can apply a “terrorism enhancement” at sentencing to felonies intended to influence government through intimidation. Under Executive Order 13224, the government can designate U.S. persons or entities as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, which freezes assets and suspends tax-exempt status. The only specialized domestic-terrorism statute on the books is the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which is narrow and targets conduct that damages or interferes with animal enterprises.3International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. Federal Terrorism Law and U.S. Civil Society: An Explainer
The underlying legal definition, at 18 U.S.C. § 2331(5), covers activities dangerous to human life that violate federal or state criminal law and appear intended to intimidate a civilian population, influence government policy through intimidation, or affect government conduct through mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping, occurring primarily inside U.S. territory.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. § 2331 The statute defines conduct, not groups.
The Five Categories the FBI and DHS Use
Because there is no designation list, the closest official framework is the joint FBI–DHS category system. Investigations are opened based on unlawful activity, not ideology, and the categories describe what motivates the violence.5FBI/DHS. Domestic Terrorism Definitions, Terminology, and Methodology
- Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism (REMVE), driven by bias related to race or ethnicity, including white supremacist and neo-Nazi violence. The Intelligence Community assesses this as the most lethal category.
- Anti-Government or Anti-Authority Violent Extremism, including militia extremists, sovereign citizens, and anarchist extremists.
- Animal Rights and Environmental Violent Extremism, focused on perceived harm to animals or destruction of natural resources.
- Abortion-Related Violent Extremism, covering both pro-life and pro-choice motivations.
- All Other Domestic Terrorism Threats, a residual category for grievances tied to religion, gender, sexual orientation, or personal factors that do not fit cleanly elsewhere.
The scale has grown sharply. Open FBI domestic terrorism cases rose from 1,981 in fiscal year 2013 to 9,049 in fiscal year 2021, a 357% increase.6GAO. The Rising Threat of Domestic Terrorism in the U.S. and Federal Efforts to Combat It The FBI testified in December 2023 that investigations had more than doubled since 2020, and by late 2025 reported over 1,700 active domestic terrorism investigations.7House Committee on Homeland Security. Threat Snapshot Between 2010 and 2021, DHS recorded 231 incidents, with racially or ethnically motivated extremism accounting for roughly 35% and driving most of the fatalities.
Racially and Ethnically Motivated Groups and Cells
The REMVE landscape is what researchers call “post-organizational.” Rather than large hierarchical groups, it operates through decentralized cells and lone actors who connect online, with the United States responsible for a large share of REMVE content on the internet.8RAND Corporation. Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism Mass-casualty attacks in Pittsburgh in 2018, El Paso in 2019, Buffalo in 2022, and at the Islamic Center of San Diego in May 2026 all fell in this category.
Atomwaffen Division and Its Successors
Atomwaffen Division (AWD), founded in 2015, was one of the most prominent neo-Nazi accelerationist cells in the country — accelerationism being the belief that the current system must be violently collapsed to make way for a new extreme-right order.9Anti-Defamation League. Accelerationism Members were linked to multiple murders, including co-founder Devon Arthurs’ 2017 killing of two roommates, for which he pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced to 45 years, and member Samuel Woodward’s 2018 murder of Blaze Bernstein, for which he was convicted in November 2024 and sentenced to life. AWD disbanded in February 2020 after a wave of arrests, and former members reorganized as the National Socialist Order in July 2020.
AWD founder Brandon Russell, who had already served five years for possessing explosives, was found guilty in February 2025 of conspiring to destroy energy infrastructure near Baltimore.10DOJ. White Supremacist Leader Found Guilty of Conspiring to Destroy Regional Power Grid His co-conspirator, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, received 18 years.
The Base
The Base, founded in 2018 by Rinaldo Nazzaro, largely collapsed in early 2020 after FBI disruption. Three members in Maryland and Delaware were convicted on firearm charges tied to terrorism crimes in October 2021, and three Georgia members were sentenced for an assassination plot the following month. Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union have all formally designated The Base as a terrorist group; the United States has not.
Terrorgram
In January 2025, the U.S. government designated the Terrorgram Collective — an online accelerationist network — and three foreign-based leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Two U.S.-based leaders, Matthew Allison and Dallas Humber, were indicted in September 2024 on 15 counts, including soliciting hate crimes and the murder of federal officials. Terrorgram is one of the few instances in which the executive branch has used the SDGT tool against a domestic-facing network.
Anti-Government and Militia Groups
DHS assessed anti-government and anti-authority violent extremism as the “most significant threat” heading into the 2024 election cycle.11DHS. 2025 Homeland Threat Assessment The category is broad, covering militia movements, sovereign citizens, and looser ideological networks like the Boogaloo movement.
The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys
The Oath Keepers and Proud Boys drew the highest-profile prosecutions of the past several years through the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In November 2022, a jury convicted Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and member Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracy. Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years, with a terrorism enhancement applied by the sentencing judge; Meggs received 12 years. In May 2023, a jury convicted Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola of seditious conspiracy and other felonies, again with terrorism enhancements at sentencing.
Those convictions were largely undone in January 2026, when President Trump commuted the sentences of several Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders as part of a clemency action covering more than 1,500 January 6 defendants. Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio received a pardon. In April 2026, the Department of Justice filed a motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit asking that the seditious conspiracy convictions be vacated and the underlying indictments permanently dismissed.12NPR. Justice Department Moves to Toss Seditious Conspiracy Convictions13PBS NewsHour. DOJ Moves to Erase Seditious Conspiracy Convictions of Oath Keepers, Proud Boys in Jan. 6 Cases
Sovereign Citizens
The sovereign citizen movement is built on the belief that adherents are separate from the United States and not subject to government authority. It originated in the U.S. tax protest movement of the 1950s and has roots in the Posse Comitatus movement of the 1960s.14George Washington University Program on Extremism. Sovereign Citizens: A Conversation With Dr. Christine Sarteschi The FBI classifies it as a domestic terrorist movement.15FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Sovereign Citizens: A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement
There is no central leadership. Illegal activity ranges from financial fraud, bogus diplomatic credentials, money laundering, and tax evasion to what researchers call “paper terrorism”: frivolous lawsuits, sham liens against judges and police, and mock courts issuing fake indictments. Since 2000, lone-offender sovereign citizen extremists have killed six law enforcement officers. In a widely cited 2010 incident, Jerry and Joseph Kane killed two Arkansas police officers during a traffic stop.
The Boogaloo Movement
The Boogaloo movement coalesced around the idea of a second civil war, with adherents viewing law enforcement as “domestic enemies.” It is decentralized and blends anti-government, right-libertarian, and accelerationist elements.16CSIS. Examining Extremism: The Boogaloo Movement
The most prominent case involved Steven Carrillo, an active-duty Air Force sergeant and member of a Boogaloo faction called the Grizzly Scouts. On May 29, 2020, Carrillo allegedly killed federal protective security officer David Patrick Underwood and wounded a second guard outside a federal building in Oakland, California. Eight days later, Carrillo ambushed Santa Cruz County deputies, killing Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller.17PBS Frontline. Steven Carrillo, Boogaloo Bois, and the Incitement of Civil War In related activity, Texas-based Ivan Hunter was charged with firing 13 rounds into a Minneapolis police precinct in May 2020, three Boogaloo-linked individuals were arrested in Las Vegas for plotting to firebomb a power substation, and in December 2020 two members of the “Boojahideen” network pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to Hamas to finance Boogaloo activities.
Anarchist and Left-Wing Networks
The FBI and DHS classify anarchist violent extremists as a subcategory of anti-government/anti-authority extremism, defining them as violent extremists “who oppose all forms of capitalism, corporate globalization, and governing institutions.”18George Washington University Program on Extremism. Anarchist/Left-Wing Violent Extremism in America Between 1994 and 2020, left-wing terrorists accounted for about 25% of the 893 terrorist attacks and plots recorded in the United States, with 22 fatalities — far fewer than right-wing or jihadist attacks over the same period.19CSIS. The Escalating Terrorism Problem in the United States
Notable incidents include the 2017 shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and others in Alexandria, Virginia, by James Hodgkinson, and the July 2019 attack on an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, by William Van Spronsen, who was killed by police. Between 2015 and 2019, the FBI identified seven significant domestic terrorism incidents with a nexus to anarchist extremism, producing guilty pleas ranging from possession of stolen explosives to arson of a defense contractor’s building. Older environmental and animal rights networks — the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front — conducted small-scale property attacks primarily between 2000 and 2005. CSIS characterizes the overall lethality of left-wing attacks as “very low.”20CSIS. Ideological Trends in U.S. Terrorism
The Antifa Executive Order and NSPM-7
On September 22, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order designating “Antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization,” describing it as a “militarist, anarchist enterprise” seeking to overthrow the U.S. government. The order directed federal agencies to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle illegal operations by Antifa or anyone acting on its behalf, and to take action against individuals providing material support or funding.21The White House. Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization
Three days later, the administration issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.” The memo directed Joint Terrorism Task Forces to lead a comprehensive strategy against entities engaged in political violence, instructed the Treasury Department to trace illicit funding streams, and directed the IRS to ensure no tax-exempt entities finance political violence or domestic terrorism.22The White House. Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence By March 2026, the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation division had established a joint “mission control command center” to investigate nonprofit organizations for suspected links to domestic terrorism, with IRS agents performing one-year rotations to provide financial investigation expertise.23Charity & Security Network. FBI and IRS Concretize Implementation of NSPM-7
Both actions drew criticism. The ACLU said NSPM-7 creates no new federal crimes or powers, that federal agencies remain bound by the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, and that its breadth — reaching those associated with “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity” and “extremism on migration, race, and gender” — could sweep in nonprofits, activists, and journalists. The organization noted that using the IRS for politically motivated audits is itself a federal felony.24ACLU. How NSPM-7 Seeks to Use Domestic Terrorism to Target Nonprofits and Activists The Brennan Center said the Antifa designation cited no statutory or constitutional authority, distinguishing it from the legally grounded FTO process.25Brennan Center for Justice. Trump’s Orders Targeting Antifascism Aim to Criminalize Opposition Antifa itself is not a group with a membership roster or hierarchy in the way the Oath Keepers or Atomwaffen were, which is part of what critics argue makes the designation legally novel.
The Shift Toward Lone Offenders
Focusing only on groups increasingly misses where the violence actually comes from. The FBI has consistently identified lone offenders as the most likely perpetrators of domestic terrorist attacks, and the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment described U.S.-based lone offenders inspired by foreign or domestic propaganda as the most likely attack scenario.26Office of the Director of National Intelligence. 2026 Annual Threat Assessment
Research on lone-wolf terrorism identifies a recurring pattern: personal and political grievances build the foundation, then affinity with an extremist group or online community forms, then indirect inspiration from enablers pushes the individual toward action. In 76 to 84% of cases, the individual broadcasts intent before acting through manifestos, social media posts, or videos.27National Institute of Justice. Lone Wolf Terrorism in America Since 9/11, radicalization has shifted from happening inside formal extremist groups to happening through informal online networks. The weapon of choice has shifted from bombs to high-velocity firearms.
Several recent cases underscore how the threat now shows up:
- Vance Boelter, 57, disguised himself as a law enforcement officer in June 2025 and killed Democratic Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, then shot and wounded state Senator John Hoffman and his wife. Investigators found a list of dozens of targets, including Democratic politicians and Planned Parenthood locations. Boelter was indicted on six federal charges that could carry the death penalty.28DOJ. Vance Boelter Indicted for Murders and Shootings29BBC News. Minnesota Shooting Suspect Charged
- Shamsud Din Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a New Year’s crowd in New Orleans in January 2025, killing 14 people and injuring more than 50. The FBI identified it as the first lethal attack in the United States connected to the Islamic State since 2017.30Recorded Future. U.S. Violent Extremists Shifting Focus to Targeted Physical Threats
- Brad Spafford, 36, was arrested on a Smithfield, Virginia, farm in December 2024, where authorities seized approximately 155 improvised explosive devices, the largest cache of finished IEDs in FBI history. He had used photos of President Biden for target practice. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years in federal prison in December 2025.31DOJ. Smithfield Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Possessing Over 150 Improvised Explosive Devices32NBC Washington. Man Accused of Stockpiling Bombs, Biden Photo Target Practice Pleads Guilty
- Multiple recent plots have targeted the electrical grid. Beyond the Russell–Clendaniel Baltimore-area conspiracy, Skyler Philippi was arrested in Nashville in November 2024 for plotting to destroy an electrical substation, and Andrew Takhistov was arrested in New Jersey in July 2024 for soliciting the destruction of energy facilities.
CSIS research found that attacks and plots targeting government institutions for partisan political motivations over the past five years are nearly three times higher than the total for the preceding 25 years combined.33CSIS. The Rising Threat of Anti-Government Domestic Terrorism
How Groups Are Tracked Outside the Government
Because the federal government does not publish a list of domestic terrorist groups, most public tracking is done by private organizations. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s 2026 “Year in Hate and Extremism” report documented 1,263 hate and anti-government groups active in the United States during 2025, an 8% decline from the 1,371 groups reported in 2024.34WWNO. SPLC’s Latest Year in Hate Report Details Shift From Extreme to Establishment Categories include neo-Nazi organizations, white nationalist chapters, anti-government militias, male supremacist groups, and conspiracy-focused organizations.
The SPLC titled its report “From Extreme to Establishment,” finding that extremist groups are increasingly moving away from street demonstrations toward lobbying, policy influence, and institutional infiltration. The organization attributed the drop in documented anti-government groups partly to the difficulty of selling an anti-government message while a federal administration aligns with some of their political views, and cautioned that reduced visible organizing does not mean reduced ideological commitment to violence.
The Anti-Defamation League maintains similar tracking focused on accelerationist and white supremacist networks, and academic centers such as the George Washington University Program on Extremism publish case-level research on specific movements. None of these are official designations. They are the closest thing to a public inventory of domestic terrorist groups the reader will find, and understanding that gap is the beginning of understanding the topic.