Thousands of Bombings by Left-Wing Groups Marked Early 1970s U.S. Landscape

A historical claim circulating on social media highlights a period in the early 1970s when domestic bombings in the United States reached an astonishing frequency, primarily attributed to left-wing radical groups. According to the tweet from "Wokal Distance," referencing the 1971-1972 period, "leftists carried out 5 bombings per day, every day. By the end they carried out more than 3000 bombings. And nobody remembers..." This assertion aligns with historical records indicating a significant wave of protest bombings during that era.

During an eighteen-month span in 1971 and 1972, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) indeed recorded approximately 2,500 bombings on American soil, averaging nearly five per day. These acts were largely carried out by groups such as the Weather Underground, the New World Liberation Front, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and Puerto Rican independence movements. Their motivations stemmed from anti-Vietnam War sentiment, anti-racism, and anti-imperialist ideologies, with many members being former student activists.

The Weather Underground, a prominent far-left Marxist militant organization, engaged in a bombing campaign targeting government buildings and banks. Their actions, while disruptive, were often designed to avoid casualties, with warnings frequently issued beforehand. As noted by author Bryan Burrough, these "exploding press releases" aimed to convey political messages and protest perceived injustices, rather than inflict mass harm.

The FBI actively pursued these groups, though their clandestine nature and use of assumed identities made tracking difficult. Investigations, sometimes involving controversial methods like the COINTELPRO program, aimed to dismantle these networks. Many members eventually faced charges, and by the mid-1980s, the organized radical underground largely dissipated.

The tweet's claim of a collective "memory hole" regarding these events is also echoed by historical analysis. Despite the high frequency of bombings, their often non-lethal nature and the subsequent disbandment of the groups contributed to a fading public memory, in contrast to later, more devastating acts of terrorism. This period represents a unique chapter in U.S. history marked by widespread, ideologically driven domestic violence.