The U.S. has the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years.
Posted by Speaker Mike Johnson, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 3 contradict3 support1 context
- Said
- 2 times·
- Confidence
- 55%
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnsonOct 25, 2026The sources support that homicides are on pace for their lowest level in at least 126 years, and that the FBI's murder rate is the lowest since national estimates began. They do not directly establish that the overall violent crime rate is the lowest in 126 years; that phrasing comes from speakers' statements and from a homicide-specific projection.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… We cut massive Biden era regulations. We got the economy going again. We have Trump accounts for newborns, the first ever nationwide school choice program. We have the lowest violent crime in 126 years. Biggest decline in prescription drug cost in 60 years. We got back to American energy dominance and peace through strength. A million jobs added in the private sector alone in the last 19 months. It goes on and on and on. …
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnson · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. No source states that the overall violent crime rate is the lowest in 126 years; the 126-year figure appears in reporting on homicides and in Speaker Johnson's quoted remarks, which are not independent evidence.[1][2][5]
Supports. The White House reports that first-half 2026 homicides are down 18% and on pace for the lowest level in at least 126 years, a figure based on homicides rather than the overall violent crime rate.[3][6]
Supports. The FBI reports the estimated murder rate fell to 4.1 per 100,000, the same as 1955 and 1956 and the lowest since it began keeping national estimates, and that violent crime fell in 2025 for a second consecutive year.[4]
Context. FactCheck.org finds that speakers at the GOP convention misleadingly credited the Trump administration for the 2025 crime drop and noted that criminologists say the exact causes are unclear, though it does not dispute the 126-year figure itself.[2]
Context. Some reporting attributes the decline to broad factors such as demographic shifts and police technology rather than specific administrations, and notes that the downward trend began in 2022.[7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 1 tier 2, 1 rated low, 1 not rated
- 1Republicans return to tough-on-crime message before ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Conventionfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3Crime Plummets to Another Historic Low Under President ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Violent Crime Falls at Historic Rate, New FBI Data Show — FBIfbi.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5Republicans focus on tough-on-crime message before ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 6Murders on Pace to Drop to a 126-Year Low Following Illegal ...theepochtimes.com · rated low for factual reporting by Iffy.news · cited for: supports
- 7US on Track to Have Historically Low Number of Homicides in 2026, ...ground.news · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 2 published posts
Checked 2 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestMixed
- Mixed