Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Dr. John Lott is stirring the pot again and this time it’s over who’s actually committing mass attacks in America.
In a new op-ed, Lott takes aim at what he calls a “filtered narrative” around terrorism and mass shootings in the U.S., arguing that the data doesn’t match what Americans are constantly told.
According to Lott, the dominant message from politicians and media has been clear: white supremacists are the primary domestic threat. But he says a deeper look at long-term data tells a more complicated story.
What the Numbers Say
Lott breaks down mass public shootings from 1998 through 2025 and highlights a few key points:
- 108 mass public shootings, involving 111 shooters
- 8 of those shooters were Muslim (7.2%)
- Muslims make up roughly 0.4% of the U.S. population
That’s where his argument hits hardest. He claims that’s about 18 times higher than their share of the population.
On the flip side, Lott notes that:
- White males commit mass shootings below their share of the population
- Only about 6.5% of attackers expressed white supremacist or similar views
He also points out that many shooters don’t fit clean ideological boxes at all, despite how they’re often labeled after the fact.
Media Framing Under Fire
A big chunk of Lott’s argument isn’t just about the numbers. It’s about how those numbers are presented.
He calls out what he sees as selective labeling, arguing that attackers with left-leaning or mixed motivations often get lumped into broader categories like “right-wing extremism,” while others are excluded from those counts entirely.
That, according to Lott, creates a skewed perception of risk and ultimately shapes policy in ways that may not match reality.
The Bigger Point
The Terror Threat We Aren’t Supposed To Discuss
— John R Lott Jr. (@JohnRLottJr) March 17, 2026
The evidence showed Muslims in the US commit terrorism at a greatly disproportionate rate. The data also contradict claims that whites or right-wing white supremacists pose the primary terrorist threat.https://t.co/jF7KwPPZNF
To be clear, Lott does acknowledge that most Muslims are not a threat and that terrorism comes in many forms. But his core argument is simple:
If policymakers want real solutions, they need to start with accurate data, not political narratives.
And that’s where this gets controversial. Because once you start digging into who’s committing what (and why), it forces a conversation a lot of people would rather avoid.
What Do You Think?
Is Lott exposing something real here or just cherry-picking stats to make a point?
Are we getting the full picture on threats in America… or just the version that fits the narrative?
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Bottom line despite data, statistics and the Media…
Crazies with guns, bad. Start shooting back.
The problem with John lot is that he is dishonest.
He uses fraudulent accounts to post bogus reviews in support of his so-called ‘scholarly reports’.
He’s the George Santos/Anthony Delawder of gun research.
“Scholar Invents Fan To Answer His Critics
By Richard Morin
February 1, 2003
Mary Rosh thinks the world of John R. Lott Jr., the controversial American Enterprise Institute scholar whose book “More Guns, Less Crime” caused such a stir a few years ago.
In postings on Web sites in this country and abroad, Rosh has tirelessly defended Lott against his harshest critics. He is a meticulous researcher, she’s repeatedly told those who say otherwise. He’s not driven by the ideology of the left or the right. Rosh has even summoned memories of the classes she took from Lott a decade ago to illustrate Lott’s probity and academic gifts.
“I have to say that he was the best professor I ever had,” Rosh gushed in one Internet posting.
Indeed, Mary Rosh and John Lott agree about nearly everything.
Well they should, because Mary Rosh is John Lott — or at least that’s the pseudonym he’s used for three years to defend himself against his critics in online debates, Lott acknowledged this week.
“I probably shouldn’t have done it — I know I shouldn’t have done it — but it’s hard to think of any big advantage I got except to be able to comment fictitiously,” said Lott, an economist who has held senior research positions at the University of Chicago and Yale.
Moreover, the AEI resident scholar acknowledged on Friday that he permitted his 13-year-old son to write an effusive review of “More Guns, Less Crime” and then post it on the Amazon.com Web site. It was signed “Maryrosh.”
Lott said that he frequently has used the name “Mary Rosh” to defend himself in online debates. The name is an amalgam of the first two letters of his four sons’ first names. In a posting to the Web site maintained by Tim Lambert, an Australian professor who has relentlessly attacked Lott’s guns studies, “Mary Rosh” claims to be a former student of Lott at the University of Pennsylvania, where the economist taught between 1991 and 1995.“
When a reporter attempted to read the posting to him over the telephone, Lott stopped him after the first few words. “I’m sure I did that. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Julian Sanchez, a Cato Institute staffer, is the cybersleuth who tracked Mary Rosh back to John Lott.
“I compared that IP with the header of an email Dr. Lott had sent me from his home address. And by yet another astonishing coincidence, it had originated at the very same IP address. Now, what are the odds of that?” he wrote in a posting on his Web site. “Sarcasm aside, we’re a little old to be playing dress up, aren’t we Dr. Lott?”
Lott said he initially used his own name in online debates with critics. “But you just get into really emotional things with people. You also run into other problems.” So he started using the name Mary Rosh. “I should not have done it, there is no doubt. But it was a way to get information into the debate.”
Taken from the Washington Post
I agree with Dr. Lott, but I would like to know how many had or have mental or sexual issues They should be institutionalized instead of blaming a gun or the gun manufacturers. Instead of more stupid laws like NY and the other stupid states have. Bucky Hochul thinks only the rich are leaving, I personal know a number of folks that left because of the stupid NY gun and ammo laws. I’m ready to leave also.
Seems the trannys are a murderous lot. Take the underlying neurosis and slap a bunch of drugs on top of it… They buy guns and kill people. Who could have seen that coming?
All those people aren’t even transgender. In 2002 the estimated number of trans people in America was .0-.3% of the entire population. In 2016 it was roughly .6% of people who were diagnosed and treated. Even .6% is so tiny it’s statistically insignificant.
Now fast forward to the Biden administration giving almost unlimited power and influence to radical leftists in our public schools and while there’s no information available for the percentage of people today we can all clearly see that number has sky rocketed, or has it? No. It’s impossible.
There is no way that a demographic went from .3% in 2002 to .6% in 2016 to whatever they claim today. What that means is that huge numbers of impressionable young children in our public schools were brainwashed and had medical procedures that did not actually help them. It did the exact opposite.
All these so-called “transgender” killers weren’t even transgender to begin with, they were impressionable kids who had their minds warped by radical leftism. Prior to the Biden administration starting all this there wasn’t a single case of a transgender person committing murder let alone mass murders. After Biden there were multiple cases.
Obviously the shooters have a responsibility but we also need to focus on the people that physically and mentally damaged countless children. The actual trans people, those .6%, had nothing to do with this. We can’t let ourselves be red herring’d away from the real criminals, the people who brainwashed thousands of children and released them into society where they have wreaked havoc ever since. Nobody is talking about punishing the people that perpetrated this crime against humanity. The “teachers”, counselors, school administrators, medical personnel AND the Democrats who empowered them and protected them. What they did is certainly a crime against humanity.
Well considering we already know what species commits the most mass murders… The liberals really don’t care who it is, they’re looking at the vehicle of these mass murders which is our guns. It doesn’t matter how many guns are used lawfully in this country it’s about the few that are used in committing crimes.
The old adage is so appropriate here “ if a man builds 1000 bridges and sucks just one cork, do they call him a bridge builder? No they call him a corksoaker (terminology adjusted for babies lol)
It’s the weirdo freak leftist that caused most of the property damage riots and murders. The government created killing zones by labeling them as gun-free zones. that tells the murderer there’s no guns here so I can easily kill many people without worrying about people being able to protect themselves. because the stupid law abiding citizens obey the law no matter how insane that law may be.the bottom line it’s the government’s fault.
It’s the weirdo freak leftist that caused most of the property damage riots and murders
I’d like to know what the stats are on Trans shootings the past couple of years. Seems high to me.
People, because of the bias of the drive-by lamestream media, forget who sirhan sirhan and mehmet ali acja were, for instance, and quickly forget how many of these shootings were in churches, including church-run school
what about the b’day, air bnb, music vids, and block parties where mass shootings are happening?