Riverside County police believe there was a new assassination attempt at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Coachella over the weekend. It is unclear whether the suspect intended to harm the former president, but political violence is a major issue in American politics.
In an incident over the weekend, Bem Miller was arrested for having an unregistered firearm in his car and was searched by police after he attempted to use a fake VIP pass to enter a rally. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco claimed that he “possibly thwarted another assassination plot.” Mr Miller denied the charges and was released on bail on Saturday. Sheriff Bianco’s comments capture the widespread feeling of concern among Americans.
A recent study by the Research Polarization Lab found that while Americans’ support for partisan violence (specifically referring to violent crimes against members of opposing political parties) is low, thousands of Americans still support the idea. It turned out that Of the 73,325 participants, 5.7% of those under 30 supported sectarian violence, compared to 1.7% of those over 30.
A Reuters poll last year found current levels of political violence not seen since the 1970s. There were 213 incidents of political violence between the January 6 riots and the release of the report on August 9, 2023. Of these, 18 resulted in fatalities.
Reuters defines political violence as “incidents related to elections or sectarian political disputes, or planned acts based on an identifiable ideology.”
Joe Saltzman, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California, saw the political climate of the 1960s and thinks the lack of civil debate is a problem.
“I’m much more nervous about political violence today than I was in the 1960s, when everything was more controlled and there was less hostility, lies, and verbal violence across the country,” he said in a statement to Annenberg Media. ” he said.
Saltzman believes political violence over issues such as abortion and the rights of people of color has always been part of American history.
“Donald Trump’s presidency and this candidacy has given license to many people who believe that violence is necessary to cultivate their point of view. Political violence has therefore always been a part of this country’s history. “It’s now more prevalent in the population than it was before 2016,” Saltzman said.
Some have seen firsthand the changes brought about by political violence around the world. Sean Wilson, a freshman economics student, said he has seen the effects of political violence in his native South Africa.
“I think political violence is actually very useful in many situations…I’m thinking of my country, South Africa,” Wilson said. “Political violence was necessary to overthrow the racist system of apartheid…In essence, it is just a symptom of a corrupt system.”
Mr Wilson suggested that social media was “glorifying” political violence after seeing people cheering the former president’s first assassination attempt on X.
“(Internet jokes) dilute the seriousness of the election because they expose all of this and kind of make fun of the election,” Wilson said. “You bring up how extreme an assassination attempt is. It makes people feel less connected to the election and not necessarily feel like their vote matters.”
Some believe that while political violence may be necessary, it should not be the primary means of change. Zachary Wienko, a fourth-year computer science student, said the political climate has become heated with Democrats and Republicans blaming each other.
“I think that in order to have a healthy democracy, we should bring about change through voting, not violence,” he said.
