"GLOBAL ISSUES, LEADERSHIP CHOICES":

What makes for far-right violence in the U.S.? Based on the work of a pair of researchers at Oklahoma State, it's not poverty or economic decline (in fact, they find most right-wing extremists are "relatively successful" middle class) and it's not more common in areas with greater ethnic diversity (in fact, they find more right-wing terrorism in U.S. counties that are overwhelmingly white).

Instead, the three factors most predictive of right-wing extremism are:
1. "[D]istrust of mainstream political figures and institutions. This is not the general skepticism of government that is central to Republican ideology, but it is a complete rejection of any legitimate legal authority.... This extreme political cynicism legitimizes the belief that political violence is necessary to defend their rights. It fuels a distrust in elections as a mechanism for settling policy disputes ... [and it] makes people less willing to trust political institutions to constrain their opponents."
2. "[T]he belief in 'white victimhood' or 'aggrieved entitlement.' This is the message promoted on right-wing social media, and emphasizes the victimization of the traditionally dominant White Christian male, with empowered women, minorities and immigrants becoming the villains. ... Despite what many may think, this isn’t a story of economic hardship — it is a fear of lost privilege. Many modern right-wing adherents come from the relatively successful middle class. Indeed, although men are more likely to engage in violence, White middle-class women from the suburbs are one of the fastest-growing groups of believers of QAnon and other right-wing conspiracy theories."
3. "[D]ivisive language — used by politicians to mobilize their base — helps normalize the perception that a group is under threat and violent action is necessary. While violence may not be a politician’s goal, individuals exposed to even 'mild violent metaphors' are more likely to support political violence against opposing groups than those who receive more neutral messages. ... Drawing on data on instances of right-wing attacks from 1970 to 2016, we found that this violence was more likely to happen in counties that were electorally competitive — that is, places where Democratic and Republican votes were roughly equivalent."
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/09/three-key-factors-that-drive-far-right-political-violence-two-that-dont/