Early Warning on Flamethrowers (Terror Weapons) Appearing in Violent Extremist Arsenals in the U.S.
Updated: Sep 29
C/O Futures Terrorism Research Note Series
Lisa J. Campbell and Robert J. Bunker
16 July 2026
Flamethrowers Are Emerging in Violent Extremist and Criminal Arsenals
A series of incidents in the United States and Mexico is raising an emerging security concern: commercial and improvised flamethrowers are appearing in the possession of violent extremists, radicalized individuals, and criminal organizations.
Recent cases examined by C/O Futures include flamethrowers recovered following an attempted attack on critical infrastructure near Las Vegas, a makeshift flamethrower used during the June 2025 attack in Boulder, Colorado, two flamethrowers recovered from an armed individual outside a North Carolina church, and a commercial flamethrower seized with a weapons cache in cartel territory in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
C/O Futures assesses these incidents as early-warning indicators of a broader threat trajectory.
Flamethrowers combine destructive incendiary capability with an unusually strong psychological effect. Their visual impact, potential to generate panic, and ability to attract extensive media attention may make them particularly appealing to violent actors seeking not only physical effects but also psychological and propaganda effects.
Key Findings
Flamethrowers have appeared across several recent extremist, criminal, and concerning security incidents, including cases in Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, and Tamaulipas, Mexico.
The June 2025 Boulder attack demonstrated actual use of a makeshift flamethrower alongside Molotov cocktails during an attack against a public gathering.
Two commercial flamethrowers were recovered in connection with the February 2026 attempted attack against a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power substation near Searchlight, Nevada, although they were not used during the incident.
In June 2026, police arrested an armed man outside a High Point, North Carolina church and recovered two flamethrowers along with crossbows, ammunition, knives, body armor, and a notebook containing addresses of churches, schools, and public buildings. The flamethrowers were not used and their intended purpose remained undetermined.
Also in June 2026, Mexican military personnel recovered a commercial flamethrower from a weapons cache in Grupo Escorpiones territory in Tamaulipas, demonstrating the technology's appearance within the Mexican criminal environment.
C/O Futures identifies accessibility, commercial availability, online visibility, psychological impact, and the dual-use nature of flamethrowers as factors warranting increased threat awareness.
Why This Matters
The concern surrounding flamethrowers extends beyond their ability to start fires.
Historically, flame weapons have produced both physical and psychological effects. Their use in warfare has included attacks against personnel, infrastructure, fortified positions, vegetation, and other targets, while their visual and psychological characteristics have contributed to their fear-inducing reputation.
Those characteristics may have particular relevance in a violent extremist context.
An extremist seeking publicity or mass panic does not necessarily need a weapon to be more effective than conventional firearms for it to have value. The dramatic visual character of fire, its ability to generate fear, and the potential for imagery of an attack to spread rapidly through traditional and social media may make flame weapons attractive as what the research note describes as “terror weapons.”
The emerging issue is therefore not simply whether flamethrowers become common weapons.
It is whether their availability, visibility, psychological impact, and appearance across several different threat environments begin to make them attractive to a wider range of violent actors.
Four Recent Incidents Form an Early-Warning Pattern
The C/O Futures research note identifies four recent cases as particularly significant.
Boulder, Colorado — June 2025
In June 2025, an attacker used a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails against participants in a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado.
Law enforcement reporting cited in the research note stated that the attacker had additional incendiary devices and had planned the attack in advance.
Unlike the other recent cases examined in the report, this incident demonstrated the actual employment of an improvised flame weapon against people.
Imagery reproduced in the C/O Futures research note shows the Boulder attacker carrying the makeshift flamethrower and, subsequently, after the device had been removed.
Searchlight, Nevada — February 2026
C/O Futures previously examined the February 2026 attempted attack against a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power substation near Searchlight, Nevada.
Investigators recovered two commercial flamethrowers along with thermite and other weapons and materials associated with the incident.
The flamethrowers were not used, and their intended role remains undetermined. Their presence nevertheless adds to the broader pattern of flame weapons appearing within concerning extremist-related arsenals.
High Point, North Carolina — June 2026
On 28 June 2026, authorities arrested an armed man outside Wesley Memorial Church in High Point, North Carolina.
According to reporting cited by C/O Futures, investigators recovered two flamethrowers, two crossbows, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, knives, body armor, and other items.
Authorities also reportedly recovered a notebook containing addresses of churches, schools, and public buildings.
The flamethrowers were not used, and the research note states that their intended purpose was undetermined.
The incident is nevertheless significant from an indications-and-warning perspective because of the location, accompanying equipment, and presence of multiple flame weapons.
Tamaulipas, Mexico — June 2026
Just days before the North Carolina incident, Mexican military personnel reportedly recovered a commercial flamethrower alongside firearms, tactical equipment, and vehicles in Grupo Escorpiones territory in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The research note identifies the incident as another indication of flamethrowers appearing outside their conventional commercial applications and within the broader criminal weapons environment.
Commercial Availability Changes the Threat Environment
One of the most important elements of this emerging threat is that flamethrowers are no longer confined to historical military systems.
Commercial flame-producing systems are marketed in the United States for legitimate applications including agricultural burns, vegetation management, snow and ice removal, pyrotechnics, firefighting and training, and other specialized purposes.
At the federal level, flamethrowers are generally not treated as firearms, although state and local restrictions vary.
The C/O Futures research note documents a range of commercially available systems and demonstrates how the technology has expanded beyond traditional backpack-style equipment into smaller systems and remotely operated platforms.
For threat analysts, the important issue is not the legitimate commercial market itself.
It is the possibility that widely available dual-use technology can be repurposed by violent actors.
From Arson to a Distinctive “Terror Weapon”
Fire is not a new extremist tactic.
C/O Futures' research identifies historical examples in which terrorist organizations have incorporated arson and incendiary effects into larger attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the 2012 Benghazi attack, and the 2024 Islamic State in Khorasan Province attack against Crocus City Hall outside Moscow.
What may be changing is the form in which incendiary capability is available to individual actors.
Commercial and improvised flamethrowers provide a highly visible means of projecting fire that is psychologically distinct from conventional arson.
For violent extremists interested in spectacle, fear, propaganda, or media attention, that distinction matters.
C/O Futures Threat Assessment
C/O Futures assesses that the convergence of several trends warrants increased attention.
Commercial flamethrowers have become more visible to consumers. Improvised systems have also appeared online. At the same time, recent incidents demonstrate that flame weapons are appearing across multiple threat environments rather than within one ideological or criminal category alone.
The four principal cases examined in the research note span different circumstances: the Boulder attack, the Searchlight critical-infrastructure incident, the High Point church arrest, and the cartel-associated weapons seizure in Tamaulipas.
That diversity is itself an important warning indicator.
It suggests that flamethrower interest should not be monitored solely through the lens of one extremist ideology or one type of criminal organization.
Implications for Law Enforcement, Homeland Security, and Critical Infrastructure
For law enforcement and security professionals, the primary value of identifying this trend early is preparedness.
A flamethrower appearing during an investigation, threat assessment, suspicious-person encounter, weapons seizure, or pre-attack interdiction should not automatically be dismissed as an eccentric novelty item.
Context matters.
Its significance may change considerably when it appears alongside body armor, firearms, incendiary materials, extremist writings, target lists, reconnaissance information, critical-infrastructure targeting, or other indicators of violent intent.
The report concludes that the combination of increased availability, online awareness, technological development, and the recent cluster of incidents warrants greater awareness and preparation for potential future events involving flame weapons.
Indications & Warning
The purpose of this research is not to suggest that flamethrowers have become a common extremist weapon.
They have not.
Rather, the recent incidents may represent an early-warning stage in the adoption of an unconventional weapon type.
The significance lies in recognizing the trajectory before such weapons become more established within violent extremist or criminal arsenals.
For intelligence analysts, law enforcement personnel, homeland security professionals, critical-infrastructure security teams, and other practitioners, continued monitoring of flamethrower acquisition, possession, extremist interest, and association with other pre-attack indicators is warranted.
Download the Full C/O Futures Research Note
The complete C/O Futures Terrorism Research Note provides the full analysis underlying this early-warning assessment, including the incident case studies, historical context, imagery, commercial technology overview, comparative tables, references, and additional analysis.
Related C/O Futures Research
This C/O Futures Terrorism Research Note examines the February 2026 attempted attack against an LADWP power substation near Searchlight, Nevada, including the recovery of commercial flamethrowers, thermite, firearms, and other materials. It provides additional context for one of the principal incidents examined in this early-warning assessment.
This C/O Futures Terrorism Research Note examines the March 2024 Crocus City Hall attack and the combination of small-arms violence and arson TTPs, providing relevant background on the use of fire as part of contemporary terrorist attacks.
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