Growing political violence in the U.S. is a threat to democracy

Editor's note: Stephen Ndegwa, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is the executive director of South-South Dialogues, a Nairobi-based communications development think tank. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Over the past few years, the United States has experienced a surge in political violence, including assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump and other elected officials. These violent events are symptomatic of a broader problem that is eroding the foundations of American democracy.

An increase in political violence is evident by statistics from the U.S. Capitol Police, where threats against members of Congress increased tenfold between 2016 and 2021. The number of threats reported in 2020 was more than 8,600 while the number of threats reported in 2016 was about 902. This increase in aggression led to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol where Trump supporters marched to the building with the aim of stopping the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. The political violence led to the deaths of five people and the injury of over 140 police officers.

Another significant event happened on June 14, 2017, when left-wing terrorist James Hodgkinson fired at Republican members of the Congressional baseball team in Alexandria, Virginia, critically injuring House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four other people. Hodgkinson, who had a history of anti-Republican rhetoric was driven by his extreme hatred for the GOP and the Trump administration.

On October 28, 2022, Paul Pelosi, the husband of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, was attacked with a hammer by David DePape, a man who was radicalized by right-wing conspiracy theories. DePape's goal was to injure Nancy Pelosi whom he considered a key player in the Democratic Party's policies.

In a Gallup poll conducted in September 2023, 32 percent of Americans said they had confidence in Congress, a drop of six percentage points year on year. This is because threats and violence erode public confidence and thus makes it hard for elected officials to rule the country.

People are turning to social media sites like Facebook, X and YouTube to disseminate conspiracy theories including QAnon, which is a conspiracy movement that claims that the world is controlled by a group of criminals. These theories have encouraged people such as Anthony Comello, who killed an alleged mafia boss Francesco Cali in March 2019, thinking he was killing a part of what is referred to as the deep state.

The part played by social media in inciting violence is further brought out by the emergence of groups such as the Proud Boys and Antifa. These two groups have been using these social media platforms to call for violent demonstrations such as the one that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, during the “Unite the Right” march. On that day, James Alex Fields Jr., a white supremacist, ploughed his car into a group of counter protestors resulting in the death of Heather Heyer and the injuring of many others.

There are many reasons that people engage in acts of political violence. Some may seek changes due to economic difficulties, personal issues or feelings of powerlessness and that is why some of them are willing to use extreme methods. This is evidenced by the incidence of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting where Robert Bowers, who was influenced by anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, attacked the Tree of Life synagogue on October 27, killing 11 people. Bowers was inspired by hatred against immigrants and Jews which was propagated through social media in sites considered to be far-right.

Political violence undermines the basic tenets of democracy. The U.S., which used to be synonymous with democracy and political stability, is now in a situation where political personalities are threatened for their opinions. The shooting at Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home in June 2022, in response to the leaked decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, shows that legal decisions are a reason to use force.

Arizona's Secretary of State Katie Hobbs was flooded with death threats after she certified the results of the 2020 elections, and people protested outside her office. Hobbs later testified that these threats made her feel unsafe, which was a common feeling shared by many election officials across the country. As these threats increase, the capacity of elected officials to discharge their functions is undermined.

The U.S. is at a crossroads. If this flow of political violence is not managed appropriately, then the nation could end up being a place where might supersedes right. Political leaders must act by condemning violence with no ambiguity while social media companies must do more to address the issue of extremism. To remain a democratic country, the U.S. has to address this problem as a matter of urgency before the rule of law is swallowed up by the growing political intolerance.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on X, formerly Twitter, to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)