The U.S. has the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years.
Posted by Speaker Mike Johnson, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 3 contradict2 context
- Said
- 4 times·
- Confidence
- 82%
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnsonNov 10, 2026The claim that the U.S. has the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years is contradicted by the FBI's 2025 data, which show the violent crime rate at 327.6 per 100,000 and the murder rate tied with 1955-56 as the lowest, not a 126-year low.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… And because of that, we're experiencing the lowest poverty rate in the history of, of those, of those data points since they began in 1959. We have the lowest poverty rate in America right now. We also have the safest streets. We have the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years. Because of our policies and what we did. We had the biggest decline in prescription drug costs in over 60 years. Yet a million jobs added in the private sector just in the last 19 months or so. And it goes on and on and on. Trump accounts. …
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnson · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The FBI reports a 2025 violent crime rate of 327.6 per 100,000, down 9.3%, and a murder rate of 4.1 tied with 1955 and 1956 as the lowest on record, with no statement that the overall violent crime rate is the lowest in 126 years.[3]
Contradicts. PolitiFact found that Trump's claim about the national murder rate goes beyond what the FBI reported, and that the 125-year framing relies on a Council on Criminal Justice homicide projection rather than the FBI's violent crime rate.[1]
Contradicts. An Oklahoma Watch analysis of FBI and BJS data describes the violent crime rate as the lowest since 1969, which is far more recent than 126 years ago.[5]
Context. FactCheck.org found that Johnson's 'lowest violent crime rate in 126 years' line and similar remarks at the convention misleadingly credited the Trump administration for a decline that began during Trump's first term and has several contributing factors.[2]
Context. The 126-year figure appears in a White House release stating that homicides are on pace for the lowest level in at least 126 years, a homicide projection rather than a violent crime rate finding.[4]
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 1 not rated
- 1Fact-checking Trump, Whatley claims about Cooper in ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Conventionfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Violent Crime Falls at Historic Rate, New FBI Data Showfbi.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Crime Plummets to Another Historic Low Under President ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 5Is America's violent crime rate at a multi-decade low, as Sen ...oklahomawatch.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 4 published posts
Checked 3 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestFalse
- Mixed
- Mixed
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