The US intelligence community believes that among the biggest threats to US national security are the rise of radicalized US-based lone wolf actors.
The 2026 Annual Threat Assessment released by the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s office reveals that terrorism threats from teenage extremists are on the rise.
‘[T]he most likely terrorist attack scenario in the Homeland involves U.S.-based lone offenders,’ the March 2026 unclassified report notes.
It goes on to list the 2025 New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the June 2025 attack in Boulder, Colorado, and blames anti-Israel sentiment for the rise in these types of offenses.
‘These individuals take inspiration from foreign terrorist ideologies and propaganda that often exploit world events such as the Gaza conflict to fuel radicalization and mobilization,’ the report claims.
The report also notes how many young people have been radicalized due to the ‘ease of accessing terrorist messaging’ through social media.
‘Teenage Islamist extremists were responsible for a significant portion of U.S.-based plotting in 2025, continuing a trend from the past several years,’ it states.
A 16-year-old from Virginia rammed a stolen vehicle into a police car in New Jersey and attempted to stab the police officer in a March 2025 incident. The ATA paper notes that the teen was ‘motivated by Islamist ideology’ and had ‘consumed terrorist media and wanted to join ISIS.’
Trump’s top spy chief, along with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel, are testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about the worldwide threats facing the US.
The 2026 Annual Threat Assessment released by the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s office reveals that terrorism threats from teenage extremists are on the rise
Thousands of Iranians attend a funeral ceremony held for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary
The 2025 New Year’s attack occurred when a man who had been radicalized by ISIS drove a truck down the popular French quarter of New Orleans.
It led to the postponement of the Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia by almost 24 hours at the Superdome in the city, which also staged the Super Bowl last year.
The threat of lone actors and ‘terror cells’ inside the US is especially heightened in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s war on Iran.
Last week, the President addressed reports of potential Iranian sleeper cells in the United States after reports of a possible drone attack revenge plot that would target California.
Fears of possible cells came after encrypted communications, believed to have come from inside Iran and intercepted by the US, were sent as an ‘operational trigger’ for ‘sleeper assets.’
Super Bowl security ramped up in New Orleans after the New Year’s Day terrorist attack
