Since 9/11 the public has had a watchful and fearful eye of any mention of jihadists in the media. However, experts proclaim, according to the New York Times, that jihadists aren't the ones Americans should be primarily concerned with; they should be concerned with the radicals who were raised on U.S. soil.
Are homegrown radicals more dangerous than jihadis? The answer is yes, according to a count by New America. The research revealed that since 9/11, 48 people have died in the U.S. due to homegrown radicals (who aren't Muslims) as opposed to the 26 who died due to self-proclaimed jihadists.
These numbers might be new to the American public, but they aren't to law enforcement; says the Seattle Times. According to survey that will be published this week, 382 police and sheriff's departments nationwide were asked to rank the three biggest threats from violent extremism in their jurisdiction. About 74 percent listed anti-government violence, whereas only 39 percent listed "al -Qaida-inspired" violence.
Terrorism expert John G. Horgan, from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, noted that the gap between public perceptions and actual cases is increasingly obvious to scholars.
"There's an acceptance now of the idea that the threat from jihadi terrorism in the United States has been overblown, and there's a belief that the threat of right-wing, antigovernment violence has been underestimated," he said.
