Which types of guns are commonly used in left-wing or anarchist violence and property-destruction incidents in the U.S.?
Executive summary
Left-wing and anarchist violence in the United States most commonly involves small arms when firearms are used—handguns and semi‑automatic rifles such as AR‑ and AK‑pattern platforms—and a parallel history of property‑directed tactics that favor incendiaries, arson, and explosives over indiscriminate mass‑casualty shootings; contemporary reporting and case studies show armed leftist organizers also train with the same weapons but that left‑wing incidents remain fewer and less deadly than right‑wing violence [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Firearms appear, but they are not the dominant signature of left‑wing property campaigns
Scholars and journalists routinely distinguish left‑wing property‑destruction campaigns (Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front) from the firearm‑centric attacks found more often on the far right, noting ALF/ELF historically prioritized arson and vandalism aimed at property rather than mass shootings of civilians [4]; when firearms do appear in left‑wing incidents the context is often narrow—ambushes of law enforcement, defensive arming of communities, or isolated attacks—rather than broad, indiscriminate slaughter [5] [3].
2. Handguns and semi‑automatic rifles show up in left‑wing incidents and training environments
Multiple contemporary accounts document left‑leaning armed groups and training clubs unloading and using AR‑ and AK‑pattern rifles, pistols, and a mix of other long guns during training and at protests [1] [6]. Reporting on groups like the John Brown Gun Club and the broader “Left‑wing Gunstagram” phenomenon shows members displaying ARs, AKs, pistols and tactical gear—evidence that the platform mix mirrors what is broadly available on the U.S. market [1] [2]. Law‑enforcement summaries of recent fatal left‑wing attacks also emphasize the use of firearms in ambushes of police officers in public locations [5].
3. Explosives and incendiaries remain important tools for property‑directed actions
For anarchist and environmental direct‑action currents, the credible historical record includes use of incendiaries, arson campaigns, and in some cases homemade explosives; academic and law‑enforcement reports cite incidents involving C‑4 or bomb plots among a small number of actors associated with anarchist networks [7]. This means that, for property destruction specifically, incendiary devices and explosives are as central to the phenomenon as small arms in certain episodes [4] [7].
4. Motivations shape weapon choice: defense, deterrence, or targeted attack
Journalistic and research accounts indicate different rationales behind left‑wing firearm possession: community defense against perceived far‑right threats, training for potential violent confrontations, or offensive attacks on specific state actors; those motives help explain why the left’s visible arsenals often resemble civilian small arms (ARs, AKs, pistols) rather than sustained paramilitary stockpiles—though some small left‑wing militias do organize around combat‑style rifles [6] [1] [2].
5. Frequency and lethality caveat: context matters and data are limited
Background analyses and extremism datasets stress that left‑wing incidents make up a minority of extremist violence in recent decades and are generally less lethal than right‑wing attacks, so weapon‑type prevalence should be read against a low base rate of left‑wing fatalities [4] [3]. Existing reporting and case studies identify weapon types anecdotally and through high‑profile cases (handguns, AR/AK‑pattern rifles, incendiaries, occasional explosives), but no single provided source supplies a comprehensive, quantitative breakdown of weapon types across all left‑wing or anarchist incidents—this is a limitation in available public reporting [3] [7].
6. Bottom line: practical picture for analysts and policymakers
The pragmatic takeaway is that where firearms appear in left‑wing or anarchist violence they tend to be readily available civilian arms—handguns and semi‑automatic rifles (AR/AK patterns) used either defensively or in narrowly targeted attacks—while property‑destruction campaigns continue to rely heavily on incendiaries and explosives; however, the overall incidence and lethality of left‑wing firearm attacks remain lower than right‑wing extremist violence, and researchers caution against extrapolating broad patterns from a handful of well‑publicized cases [1] [2] [4] [3].