The Most Pressing Threat: Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States

Authors

  • Mariah Macintosh

Keywords:

Right-wing extremism, Domestic terrorism, National security

Abstract

Mariah MacIntosh investigates the alarming rise of right-wing extremism as the dominant terrorist threat facing the United States today. Challenging the traditional national security focus on foreign, religiously motivated terrorism, the article highlights the growing frequency, lethality, and recruitment strength of far-right movements. MacIntosh explores historical patterns, contemporary data, and high-profile incidents—including the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and the attempted kidnapping of Governor Gretchen Whitmer—to demonstrate the persistence and escalation of domestic extremism. The paper also critiques the government’s inadequate response and examines how modern digital tools, including social media and gaming platforms, have accelerated radicalization.

Author Biography

Mariah Macintosh

Mariah MacIntosh is a Rutgers University Camden alumna.
She graduated magna cum laude earning her Bachelor of Arts
in Political Science, with minors in criminal justice and legal
studies in May 2022. She currently attends Widener University
Delaware Law School as a first-year law student. Mariah
began her career while studying full-time at Rutgers Camden,
first by serving as a legal intern to Senator Troy Singleton of
the 7th Legislative District of New Jersey and the
Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Ultimately, she began
working full-time as a legal assistant at the Burlington County
Prosecutor’s Office before beginning law school. She hopes
to use this experience, as well as her educational background
to one day serve as a prosecuting attorney. Her interest in
domestic terrorism stemmed from the ongoing gun violence
epidemic and the threat that white nationalist terrorism poses,
as well as her background in politics. She hopes this paper will
bring attention to the danger and threat of violence within the
United States, and push for legislative measures just as she
has.

Cover of The Undergraduate Review, Fall 2021 edition, from the Honors College at Rutgers University–Camden. The top features the red Rutgers logo and text: “Rutgers University–Camden Honors College.” The background is a bold, colorful painting of a wide, orange-and-yellow dirt path or road stretching into a vivid landscape of green bushes and rolling hills beneath a blue sky. The title “The Undergraduate Review” and subtitle “Fall 2021” appear in white text near the center. “Volume 2, Issue 2” is displayed in the lower-right corner.

Downloads

Published

2025-06-25

How to Cite

Macintosh, M. (2025). The Most Pressing Threat: Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States. The Rutgers-Camden Undergraduate Review, 2(2), 8. Retrieved from https://rcur.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/rcur/article/view/2223

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2021): The Undergraduate Review

Section

Articles