The United States has the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years.
Posted by Speaker Mike Johnson, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict3 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 50%
Speaker Mike Johnson@SpeakerJohnsonOct 26, 2026… $4.6 trillion in lower taxes — the largest middle- and working-class tax cut in history, heading off the largest tax hike ever — a $1.6 trillion reduction in wasteful government spending, a totally secured border, erased crushing Biden-era regulations, the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years, the largest decline in prescription drug costs in 60 years, Trump Accounts for every child, the first-ever nationwide school choice program, more than one million private sector jobs added to the economy, reshoring of American manufacturing, record stock …
The sources support a historic low for murder (on pace for the lowest level in at least 126 years per CCJ, DHS, and the White House) and a large drop in overall violent crime, but none states that the overall violent crime rate is the lowest in 126 years.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What we found
Contradicts. The 126-year superlative is attached to homicides or 'murders on pace', not to the overall violent crime rate; the FBI and FactCheck.org frame the record as the lowest since the FBI began national estimates (1936), not 126 years.[1][2]
Supports. The Council on Criminal Justice finds the national murder rate is on pace to hit the lowest level in at least 126 years, as cited by the White House and DHS.[3][4][6]
Supports. The FBI reports the estimated murder rate fell to 4.1 per 100,000, the lowest since it began keeping national estimates, and the second consecutive year of substantial violent crime declines.[2]
Context. FactCheck.org finds the speakers' framing misleading in crediting the Trump administration and calling it a turnaround from Biden, noting violent crime has been falling since the 2020 spike and criminologists say the reasons are unclear.[1]
Context. The DOJ National Crime Victimization Survey reports non-fatal violent crime (excluding simple assault) fell 25% from 2024 to 2025, but the release gives no 126-year historical comparison.[5]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 4 primary, 1 rated low
- 1FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Conventionfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts, context
- 2Violent Crime Falls at Historic Rate, New FBI Data Show — FBIfbi.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3LAW AND ORDER: Crime Rates Reach Historic Lows Following DHS Deportations of Criminal Illegal Aliensdhs.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4ICYMI: "Violent crime keeps falling in biggest U.S. cities"presidency.ucsb.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5Office of Public Affairs | National Crime Victimization ...justice.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 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
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post