The Nov. 5 killing of Anthony King sent shockwaves through the small Ohio town of Okeana. As Kristen King’s husband lay dying in their yard, the 911 call revealed a grim tale. Kristen tearfully identified their neighbor, Austin Combs, as the shooter. The motive? Combs believed Anthony was a Democrat. This tragic incident is just one of 213 cases of political violence identified by Reuters since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. A group of academics studying these cases has drawn a worrying conclusion: the United States is witnessing its most significant surge in political violence since the 1970s.
This surge in violence has claimed at least 39 lives, disrupting various aspects of American life, from personal disputes to public gatherings. Cases include individual confrontations, such as the fatal altercation between two Florida men arguing over Trump’s business acumen, and large-scale public events like the shooting of social justice protesters in Portland by a man influenced by far-right political rhetoric. While violence emerged from various contexts, a common thread connects these incidents: political motivation. Political violence has been on the rise since 2016, correlated with Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign. However, this wave of violence differs from previous ones in its focus on individuals and the right-wing affiliation of many perpetrators.
