2024 presidential election year is approaching, the threat of political violence in the United States raises concerns about Congress | President | Politics
Beijing, August 14 (Xinhua) - The United States will hold presidential elections in 2024, and multiple politicians, including former President Donald Trump, have expressed their candidacy positions. The opposition and struggle among political parties, as well as the confrontation and blackmail among politicians, are expected to further intensify in 2024. The tense political atmosphere may lead to more violent threats and attacks.
The Associated Press reported on the 13th that FBI agents shot and killed a man in his 70s with a gun in Provo, Utah on the 9th of this month, which is the latest example of the political atmosphere mentioned above. The man claimed to be a supporter of Trump and repeatedly posted on social media threatening to assassinate President Joseph Biden, Vice President Camara Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and others.
On April 24th, US President Biden attended an event at the White House in Washington, D.C. Shen Jizhong
Within half a month before this incident, a 52 year old Texas man was sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison for threatening death to Arizona election workers; A 56 year old Michigan woman has been charged with helping her mentally ill son purchase a gun, after the latter threatened to shoot Biden and the Democratic governor of Michigan.
The threat of political violence has shown an upward trend in recent years, posing new challenges to American society and law enforcement agencies. According to the 2022 report of the United States Congressional Police Department, this department handled approximately 9600 cases of threatened congressmen in 2021, compared to approximately 4000 cases in 2017.
The National Urban Alliance of the United States stated in its 2021 report that 81% of elected local officials reported encountering political threats, and 87% believed that the situation was getting worse. "This has indeed increased in the past five years," said Jack Spano, a member of the National Urban Alliance Council and mayor of St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Experts believe that such threats are not limited to verbal communication, but will be implemented. On the early morning of October 28th last year, the husband of then Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi was attacked with a hammer by David Depap who broke through a window at her home in San Francisco, resulting in a skull fracture, injuries to both hands and right arm. Pelosi was not in this residence at the time. Depap takes a right-wing stance and describes himself as "tired of lies from Washington.".
On October 6, 2018, in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., protesters opposed Cavano's appointment as a Supreme Court Justice. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
In June 2022, the police arrested a man holding several knives, zip ties, and a gun near the residence of Supreme Court Justice Brett Cavano, who claimed to have planned to kill the conservative Justice appointed by Trump.
In June 2017, a gunman who was dissatisfied with the Republican Party launched an attack on a congressional baseball training ground in Virginia, injuring at least five people, including Republican whip Steve Scalis, and the gunman was killed. Scalis was once on the brink of death.
The Associated Press quoted former senior counterterrorism official Javid Ali of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as saying that lone wolf attackers often act impulsively, which is the most worrying potential threat. "Such threats can quickly become a reality without prior declaration."
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then President Trump held a demonstration outside Congress in Washington, D.C. Some protesters stormed into the Capitol building and clashed with the police. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
A special investigation report released by Reuters on the 9th of this month showed that since the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, there have been 213 cases of political violence in the United States, resulting in at least 39 deaths. Approximately two-thirds of these cases were initiated by lone wolf attackers or occurred between opposing groups during demonstrations and gatherings. This proves that the United States is facing the most severe wave of political violence since the 1970s.
During the Capitol riot, a group of pro Trump protesters forcibly broke into the building, causing the joint meeting between the House and Senate to certify Democratic candidate Biden as president to be temporarily interrupted. The riot resulted in the deaths of 5 people, including one congressional police officer, and approximately 140 law enforcement officers were injured.
