Since January 6, there have been 39 deaths resulting from political violence in the U.S., accompanied by numerous assaults.
The spike in incidents comes as President Joe Biden kicked off his 2024 campaign, marking the third anniversary of January 6. 2024 that began with a wave of threats and swatting incidents directed at high-profile public officials — many of them women — and government institutions.
The aftermath of January 6 saw a surge in political violence across the United States. According to Katie Gaddini, an associate sociology professor at University College London and a visiting fellow at Stanford University, that day marked a literal and symbolic breach of democracy in the country.
Gaddini explained that the events of January 6 revealed the centralized and organized nature of so-called “fringe” movements on the right.
Simultaneously, the breach showed some that resisting dominant political forces could be achieved through physical violence.
Notably, in October 2022, there was an attack on the husband of Nancy Pelosi, a long-serving Democrat who had been Speaker of the House of Representatives. Far-right groups targeted Pelosi due to identity politics and allegations of government corruption.
During the attack on Pelosi’s home in San Francisco, the assailant expressed intentions to hold her hostage and break her kneecaps.
However, Paul, Pelosi’s 82-year-old husband, became the victim, suffering head injuries from a hammer that fractured his skull.
Political violence has also taken the form of threats, as evidenced by an incident involving Rusty Bowers in Arizona. Following a false report of a pipe bomb and a fabricated murder inside his home, Bowers returned on the day after Christmas to find his residence surrounded by police.
Kristen King suffered the devastating loss of her husband, Anthony King, whom their neighbor Austin Combs killed at their Ohio home in 2022. Combs’ motive? He believed Anthony, the victim, was a Democrat.
Anthony King’s tragic death on November 5, 2022, adds to a troubling trend of political violence, with 213 recorded instances since January 6, 2021. On that day, over 1,000 individuals armed with blades and other weapons, influenced by conspiracy theories and the words of then-President Donald Trump, violently stormed the Capitol building.
