Political attacks targeted under the magnifying glass

The armed assaults perpetrated during the night against two Democratic legislators in the Minnesota State and their spouses – who left two dead and two wounded – are the last of a series of recent assaults against political figures who have shaken American politics.

Melissa Hortman, representative of the State and former president of the House of Representatives of Minnesota, and her husband, Mark, died in the attack, while John Hoffman, senator of the state, and his wife, Yvette, were affected by several balls.

These attacks are part of a wave of political violence which, during the past year, has seen armed men and pypumans attack political figures from the two parties, whether representatives of the State or a candidate for the presidency of a great party.

Last July, an armed man thus shot Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, in Pennsylvania, bordering on his right ear and killing a spectator. Two other people were seriously injured. Just over two months later, secrecy agents exchanged gunshots with a man whom they qualified as a second potential assassin on one of Mr. Trump’s golf courses in Florida.

Research on the prevalence of political violence in the United States is mixed. After attempted assassination against Trump last year, the researchers found that the Americans were less favorable to partisan violence. And according to some indicators, cases of political violence involving extremists have decreased in recent years.

But some studies have shown that as the influence of extremist groups such as militias decreased, people with no connection with these organizations were embellished to carry out attacks, fueled by online engagement and social networks.

“Ideas that were once confined to marginal groups appear today in the consumer media,” wrote Rachel Kleinfeld, research manager at the Carnegie for international peace Foundation, in a university review several months after the riot of January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol.

Certain surveys have revealed an increase in support for political violence this year, and even a small number of people can have a considerable impact. It is certain that very publicized individual cases of violence have contributed to the feeling that partisan policy is more volatile than ever.

“Rhetoric continues to worsen”

This year, a man was accused of having set fire to the residence of the Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro; Another man killed two employees of the Israel Embassy in Washington; The siege of the Republican Party in New Mexico and a Tesla dealer near Albuquerque were attacked at the incendiary bomb. These latest attacks have occurred while resentment with regard to the reduction of the federal government by Elon Musk caused a wave of criminal fires and vandalism against the Tesla dealerships.

A few days ago, Daniel Hernandez Jr., a former Arizona legislator who is seeking a vacant seat in the House of Representatives of the United States, said that someone had shot the car of a staff member. The scene took place in front of Mr. Hernandez’s home in Tucson, who is also his campaign office. In 2011, he was an intern with the deputy Gabby Giffords. When the latter received a bullet in the head during a political event, Mr. Hernandez helped stop the hemorrhage.

On Saturday, Mr. Hernandez published a video message on social networks, where we see him emotional at times, in which he urges people to temper political vitriol and end the violence of firearms. In an interview, he said that he feared that political campaigns have become too personal and that politicians will contribute to violence by focusing more on their adversaries than on the policy to be carried out.

“We are in a very sad situation where rhetoric continues to worsen and become more and more negative,” said Hernandez.

The attacks have occurred in a context of growing threats against judges and legislators. In recent years, attackers have targeted the former president of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and her husband; A candidate for the town hall of Louisville, in Kentucky; And a republican member of the congress who was training for the annual baseball match of the congress.

Congress candidates’ expenses on personal security have been skyrocketing in recent years in the face of death threats, especially against the Republicans who have rendered Trump responsible for the janvier 6 attack.

This article was published in the New York Times.

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