Introduction to Political Violence in the United States

The assassination of one Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife at their homes, is the latest addition to an unsettling roll call of political violence in the United States.

And hours after those shootings, officials in Texas closed down the Capitol after a credible threat against lawmakers expected at Saturday’s “No Kings” protests in Austin.

In the past two months alone, the country saw: the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C.; the firebombing of a Colorado march calling for the release of Israeli hostages; and the firebombing of the official residence of Pennsylvania’s governor — on a Jewish holiday while he and his family were inside.

Other disturbing attacks before that include the assassination of a health care executive on the streets of New York City late last year; the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in small-town Pennsylvania during his presidential campaign last year; the 2022 attack on the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by a believer in right-wing conspiracy theories; and the 2017 shooting by a liberal gunman at a GOP practice for the congressional softball game.

Understanding Political Violence

“We’ve entered into this especially scary time in the country where it feels the sort of norms and rhetoric and rules that would tamp down on violence have been lifted,” said Matt Dallek, a political scientist at Georgetown University who studies extremism. “A lot of people are receiving signals from the culture.”

Politics fueled large-scale massacres in recent years. Gunmen who killed 11 worshippers at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, 23 shoppers at a heavily Latino Walmart in El Paso in 2019 and 10 Black people at a Buffalo grocery store in 2022 each cited the conspiracy theory that a secret cabal of Jews were trying to replace white people with people of color.

The Anti-Defamation League found that from 2022 through 2024, all of the 61 political killings in the United States were committed by right-wing extremists. That changed on the first day of 2025, when a Texas man flying the flag of the Islamic State group killed 14 people by driving his truck through a crowded New Orleans street before being fatally shot by police.

History of Political Violence in the United States

The United States has a long and grim history of political violence, from presidential assassinations dating back to the killing of President Abraham Lincoln to lynchings and violence aimed at Black people in the South to the 1954 shooting inside Congress by four Puerto Rican nationalists.

Experts say the past few years, however, have likely reached a level not seen since the tumultuous days of the 1960s and 1970s, when Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated.

This year, one of Trump’s first acts in office was to pardon those involved in the largest act of domestic political violence this century — the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, intended to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election.

Ideologies and Political Violence

Often, those who engage in political violence don’t have clearly defined ideologies that easily map onto partisan divides.

A man who died after he detonated a car bomb outside a Palm Springs fertility clinic last month left writings urging people not to procreate and expressed what the FBI called “nihilistic ideations.”

But each political attack seems to inspire partisans to find evidence the attacker is on the other side. Little was known about the man police identified as a suspect in the Minnesota attacks, 57-year-old Vance Boelter.

Authorities say they found a list of other apparent targets that included other Democratic officials, abortion clinics and abortion rights advocates, as well as fliers for the day’s anti-Trump parades.

Reaction to Political Violence

Conservatives online seized on the fliers — and the fact that Boetler had once been appointed to a state workforce development board by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz — to claim the suspect must be a liberal.

It was reminiscent of the fallout from the attack on Paul Pelosi, the former House speaker’s then-82-year-old husband, who was seriously injured by a man wielding a hammer.

Right-wing figures theorized the assailant was a secret lover rather than what authorities said he was: a believer in conspiracy theories who broke into the Pelosi home echoing the words of Jan. 6 rioters who broke into the Capitol by saying: “Where is Nancy?!”

On Saturday, Nancy Pelosi posted a statement decrying the Minnesota attack.

“All of us must remember that it’s not only the act of violence, but also the reaction to it, that can normalize it,” she wrote.

Conclusion

The president has, however, routinely called political opponents “sick” and “evil” and talked repeatedly about how violence is needed to quell protests.

The Minnesota attack occurred after Trump took the extraordinary step of mobilizing the military to try to control protests against his administration’s immigration operations in Los Angeles during the past week, when he pledged to “HIT” disrespectful protesters and warned of a “migrant invasion” of the city.

Dallek said Trump has been “both a victim and an accelerant” of the charged, dehumanizing political rhetoric that is flooding the country.

“It feels as if the extremists are in the saddle,” he said, “and the extremists are the ones driving our rhetoric and politics.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the current state of political violence in the United States?

A: The current state of political violence in the United States is alarming, with a rise in violent attacks and threats against politicians, public figures, and ordinary citizens.

Q: What are the main causes of political violence in the United States?

A: The main causes of political violence in the United States are complex and multifaceted, but they include the polarization of politics, the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation, and the glorification of violence by some politicians and media figures.

Q: How can we prevent political violence in the United States?

A: To prevent political violence in the United States, we need to promote a culture of respect, tolerance, and civility, and to encourage politicians and media figures to use language that is respectful and non-violent.

Q: What is the role of social media in promoting political violence?

A: Social media can play a significant role in promoting political violence by spreading conspiracy theories, misinformation, and hate speech, and by providing a platform for extremists to recruit and radicalize new members.

Q: How can we protect ourselves from political violence?

A: To protect ourselves from political violence, we need to be aware of our surroundings, to avoid engaging with violent or extremist individuals or groups, and to report any threats or violent behavior to the authorities.