June Spotlight on Criminal Justice: Addressing Political Violence

Violence takes many forms, but none corrodes democracy more directly than political violence. Unfortunately, the recent attacks in Minnesota, where two state representatives from the Democratic Party and their spouses were all shot and one pair killed, are just the latest in a growing number of such high-profile incidents over the past decade, which have grown disturbingly more frequent in recent years.

From the 2017 shooting of now-Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) during a congressional baseball game practice and an attack on Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in his own yard that same year to the more recent attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), at their home and two assassination attempts on President Donald J. Trump, these moments serve as chilling reminders of what can happen when political grievances boil over.

In America, our system accommodates conflict by allowing for peaceful redress of grievances, such as elections, debates, protests, and policymaking. These mechanisms span all levels of government from local bodies to the presidency and are reinforced by the Constitution and our legal system, which explicitly protect these rights to disagree, speak out, and advocate for change. Violence is not (and should not be) protected.

When people take for granted the robust protections afforded to them as Americans and abandon the opportunity for peaceful civic engagement, it undermines democratic legitimacy as well as overall public safety.

Communities that witness high-profile acts of violence—which now includes all of us, as the prevalence of social media gives immediate and intimate access to information thousands of miles away—understandably lose trust in law enforcement and the criminal justice system to keep them safe. Even as violent crime rates have declined from their pandemic-era spikes, clearance rates for violent crimes remain abysmal. These high-profile attacks feed the perception that the system cannot protect us, weakening both public safety and broader system legitimacy.

We know that most violent crime is targeted rather than random. Victims typically know their assailants, whether in cases of domestic violence, gang-related incidents, or personal disputes that escalate into violence. Political violence, however, represents a disturbing form of targeting—not for personal reasons, but for one’s real or perceived role in our political system.

This extends beyond public officials as well, with even deeper implications. Take the recent killing of former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Suspect Luigi Mangione was found with a manifesto indicating that he targeted Thompson specifically “to prove a political point about the health insurance industry.” Mangione did not personally know Thompson, nor was Thompson a particularly public or high-profile figure—let alone a political one—in the minds of ordinary Americans.

This shocking incident makes one wonder whether others could be next, and if so, how far removed from the political process itself that political violence might permeate. When this type of violence becomes prevalent, and even unthinkably celebrated by some involved in the political process, it fuels public perception that nobody is safe, even if recent crime statistics tell a more nuanced story about dramatic decreases in crime rates across the board.

Any amount of political violence undermines faith in law enforcement’s ability to protect public officials and higher-profile targets—along with ordinary citizens—and calls into question the criminal justice system’s capacity to deter or hold accountable those with extreme ideologies that lend themselves to the types of political violence America has seen.

Preserving our republican form of government requires exercising our protected rights to vote, protest, and express our opinions freely and in impactful ways to influence political outcomes rather than resorting to unnecessary, senseless, and useless violence against those with whom we disagree. In a nation built on the rule of law and that gives us powerful civic tools for change, we must hold each other accountable to use these tools—and these tools only. Political violence has no place in a free society. It must be relegated to the ash heaps of history.