{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1870"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1870","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Comparing the narrative with facts: examining the impact of the presidency on right-wing domestic terrorism in the United States","abstract":"Several studies have examined the activity of right-wing extremists in relation to the actions of President Trump (Chyzh, Nieman, & Webb, 2019; Piazza, 2020). Comparatively, little research has examined the impact of the Obama presidency on right-wing extremism despite a peak in the number of right-wing extremist groups during his second term (SPLC, 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the unique effects of the Obama and Trump candidacies and presidencies on the frequency of attacks committed by right-wing extremists in the U.S. The results indicate that President Obama’s second term was associated with a gradual, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks by right-wing extremists, while the presidency of Donald Trump was associated with an abrupt, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks. These findings suggest a number of policy implications related to political polarization and rhetoric in the U.S.","abstract_html":"Several studies have examined the activity of right-wing extremists in relation to the actions of President Trump (Chyzh, Nieman, & Webb, 2019; Piazza, 2020). Comparatively, little research has examined the impact of the Obama presidency on right-wing extremism despite a peak in the number of right-wing extremist groups during his second term (SPLC, 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the unique effects of the Obama and Trump candidacies and presidencies on the frequency of attacks committed by right-wing extremists in the U.S. The results indicate that President Obama’s second term was associated with a gradual, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks by right-wing extremists, while the presidency of Donald Trump was associated with an abrupt, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks. These findings suggest a number of policy implications related to political polarization and rhetoric in the U.S.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fortunato, Olivia"],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dierenfeldt, Rick","McGuffee, Karen; Basham, Sherah","College of Arts and Sciences"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:06Z","subjects":["Domestic terrorism","Right-wing extremists","Terrorism--United States"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/715","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dierenfeldt, Rick","McGuffee, Karen; Basham, Sherah","College of Arts and Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fortunato, Olivia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2021-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Masters theses","Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Domestic terrorism","Right-wing extremists","Terrorism--United States"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/715"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Dept. of Criminal Justice and Legal Assistant Studies","M. A.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Several studies have examined the activity of right-wing extremists in relation to the actions of President Trump (Chyzh, Nieman, & Webb, 2019; Piazza, 2020). Comparatively, little research has examined the impact of the Obama presidency on right-wing extremism despite a peak in the number of right-wing extremist groups during his second term (SPLC, 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the unique effects of the Obama and Trump candidacies and presidencies on the frequency of attacks committed by right-wing extremists in the U.S. The results indicate that President Obama’s second term was associated with a gradual, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks by right-wing extremists, while the presidency of Donald Trump was associated with an abrupt, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks. These findings suggest a number of policy implications related to political polarization and rhetoric in the U.S."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Comparing the narrative with facts: examining the impact of the presidency on right-wing domestic terrorism in the United States"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dierenfeldt, Rick","McGuffee, Karen; Basham, Sherah","College of Arts and Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Fortunato, Olivia"],"dc:date":["2021-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Dept. of Criminal Justice and Legal Assistant Studies","M. A.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts."],"dc:description.abstract":["Several studies have examined the activity of right-wing extremists in relation to the actions of President Trump (Chyzh, Nieman, & Webb, 2019; Piazza, 2020). Comparatively, little research has examined the impact of the Obama presidency on right-wing extremism despite a peak in the number of right-wing extremist groups during his second term (SPLC, 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the unique effects of the Obama and Trump candidacies and presidencies on the frequency of attacks committed by right-wing extremists in the U.S. The results indicate that President Obama’s second term was associated with a gradual, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks by right-wing extremists, while the presidency of Donald Trump was associated with an abrupt, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks. These findings suggest a number of policy implications related to political polarization and rhetoric in the U.S."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/715"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Domestic terrorism","Right-wing extremists","Terrorism--United States"],"dc:title":["Comparing the narrative with facts: examining the impact of the presidency on right-wing domestic terrorism in the United States"],"dc:type":["Masters theses","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:47:06Z"}