Which US cities have experienced the highest rates of political violence since 2020?

1. Summary of the results

The assembled analyses do not identify a definitive list of U.S. cities with the highest rates of political violence since 2020; instead, they make competing claims about trends and actors. Several items emphasize that right‑wing extremist violence has been more frequent and deadlier overall in recent years, citing analyses that place most domestic-terror fatalities and incidents on the right ^{[1] [2]}. Other pieces highlight a recent uptick in left‑wing incidents in 2025, suggesting that year may be unusually active for left‑wing attacks though still lower in lethality historically ^{[3] [4]}. Additional entries recount isolated high-profile attacks and assassinations without city-level incidence rates ^[5]. Importantly, multiple provided items are non-U.S. or unrelated to city-level data and therefore do not answer the city-ranking question ^{[6] [7] [8]}.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Key missing context includes systematic, city‑level incident counts, population‑adjusted rates, and consistent definitional standards for "political violence" across sources. National overviews ^{[1] [2]} address ideology and lethality but do not break out metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C.; Portland; Minneapolis–St. Paul; or Phoenix, cities frequently cited in public discourse. Timeframe inconsistency is also absent: some sources emphasize 2025 spikes ^{[3] [4]} while others reference multi‑year trends since 2020 ^[1]. Data sources and methodology—whether counting arrests, fatalities, property damage, or threats—are not provided in the analyses, limiting comparability. Alternative datasets (not included here) such as law‑enforcement incident logs, academic terrorism databases, and local media compilations would be needed to rank cities reliably.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

Framing the question as “Which U.S. cities have experienced the highest rates” can implicitly push narratives that serve distinct political or media agendas by encouraging selective citation of isolated incidents rather than normalized rates. Sources emphasizing right‑wing responsibility may benefit groups urging stronger domestic counter‑extremism measures ^{[1] [2]}, while those highlighting rising left‑wing incidents in 2025 could bolster claims that leftist activism poses a growing threat ^{[3] [4]}. The inclusion of unrelated international unrest items (p3_s1–p3_s3) suggests potential agenda‑driven noise or poor source selection. Without city‑level, population‑adjusted data and transparent methodologies, rankings can be misleading—benefiting actors who seek to amplify fear, mobilize supporters, or justify specific policy responses.