Both the Left and the Right are Targeted by Political Violence. Who Perpetrates It? – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
Both the Left and the Right are Targeted by Political Violence. Who Perpetrates It? – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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Excerpt:
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s gruesome killing last week was both a striking visual of our nation’s intensifying polarization and, by some counts, a catalyst for it to intensify more. Even before a suspect had been identified, there was a knee-jerk reaction among some Republicans to blame the Democratic Party for his death. Some even called for retribution.
Importantly, we do not yet—and may never—know the motive, or constellation of motivations, that drove Kirk’s alleged shooter, who has been identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. But we do know that targets of political violence exist across the political spectrum.
Consider some of the recent events of political violence:
- Just three months ago, Democratic Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were assassinated in their home. Another member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and his wife were also repeatedly shot and wounded; the suspect apprehended for these crimes had a list of dozens of potential targets, including other Democrats and abortion rights advocates.
- In August, a law enforcement officer died amid a shooting that was directed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the shooter had blamed his depression on the Covid vaccine.
- In May, two staffers of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, were fatally shot; the suspect in that case previously expressed strong opposition to Israel’s aggression in Palestine.
- In April, the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was set on fire in what prosecutors are calling an attempted murder. The fire took place a few hours after Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat, celebrated Passover.
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