Did Representative Jasmine Crockett "completely fabricate" the statistic that "80% of the most violent crime are by white supremacists" as a viral post said? No, that's not entirely true: Crockett appears to have badly misquoted a statistic that originated in a 2023 ADL report, altering the meaning. The statistic was about "domestic extremist-related murders" in the United States in 2022, not about "the most violent crimes" in general.
The quote was highlighted in a post on X (archived here) published on March 7, 2025 that showed a video clip of Crockett being interviewed on CNN and part of her inauguration speech, accompanied by the comment:
"80% of the most violent crime are by white supremacists" - Rep. Crockett (Completely fabricated statistic)
This is what the video looked like:
"80% of the most violent crime are by white supremacists" - Rep. Crockett (Completely fabricated statistic) pic.twitter.com/nhsxOappOA
-- End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 7, 2025
During the livestream of her inauguration speech posted on Facebook on January 29, 2025, at 53:55, Crockett said:
Most extreme crimes that take place in this country are committed by white supremacists. Eighty percent of extreme crimes are committed by white supremacists in this country.
A transcript of the CNN clip from Laura Coates Live on February 3, 2025 provided by CNN (archived here) shows the relevant part of the conversation:
CROCKETT: He needs to go. I mean, this is very simple. We right now have a white supremacist that is sitting in the White House. He is backed up by other white supremacists. And if you really want to know who the criminals are in this country, you can Google it.
You don't have to trust me. But the people that commit 80% of the most violent crimes in this country are white supremacists.
We followed Rep. Crockett's advice and Googled it.
A Google search for "80% violent crime white supremacists" returned several results (archived here) discussing a 2023 ADL report (archived here) titled "Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2022". One of the bullet points in the summary of that report read:
- White supremacists commit the greatest number of domestic extremist-related murders in most years, but in 2022 the percentage was unusually high: 21 of the 25 murders were linked to white supremacists. Again, this is primarily due to mass shootings. Only one of the murders was committed by a right-wing anti-government extremist--the lowest number since 2017.
That would indeed be about 80% (slightly higher, even), but it is just about "domestic extremist-related murders" in 2022, not about "most violent crime" or "extreme crimes" in general.
Several news outlets reported on the statistic, using headlines like:
- White supremacists behind over 80% of extremism-related U.S. murders in 2022 (Reuters)
- White supremacists behind over 80% of extremism-related U.S. murders in 2022 (i24 news)
- White supremacists behind vast majority of 2022's extremism-related murders, report finds (The Independent)
- White supremacists behind 80% of extremism murders in US in 2022 (Deccan Herald)
Lead Stories reached out to Crockett's office by email for comment and we will update this story when a reply is received.
