HARRIS’ COLUMN: Political Violence and America’s History of Murder – LaGrange Daily News

By: Rose Harris

NOTE: Details have emerged about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, including evidence that the shooter was also planning a similar attack on President Joe Biden. Research conducted by Rose Harris, a LaGrange College student who took my U.S. Public Administration class, shows that the July 13, 2024 attack was not an isolated incident. Harris applied our research methodology and tested a hypothesis about whether threats against American politicians are increasing or not. Her work, which was published in mid-April 2024, contained a prophetic message about the dangers currently facing our politicians and our political system. John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College.

Between July 28, 1924, and September 11, 2001, 64 American politicians, not including former presidents, were assassinated, killed or otherwise killed by unnatural or involuntary means. According to PoliticalGraveyard.com, of those 64 politicians, only one, Eunice A. Stevens, was a woman. Stevens was an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention who died in 1963 after being shot in the throat during a robbery. In the 14 years between 1988 and 2001, only six American politicians were listed as having died in a despicable manner. One was shot in revenge, one was murdered by a mail bomb, one was kidnapped and stabbed, one was murdered by a political opponent, and two died in terrorist attacks. Considering that 58 politicians were murdered in the 63 years between 1924 and 1987 and only six experienced the same type of violence in thirteen years, it seems that politicians are becoming safer. Statistically, however, only five of the 58 politicians killed before 1987 were confirmed as politically motivated. One third of modern murders are politically motivated.

While America is becoming an increasingly safer country, with violent crime down nearly fifty percent since 1990, according to research from Statista.com, are American politicians becoming increasingly targeted? Data provided by CNN confirms that the number of threats of violence against politicians and representatives of power is the highest in history – between 2013 and 2023, at least 540 people were charged with this crime at the federal level. Do these statistics mean that influential political figures should fear for their lives more than the average American? Unfortunately for politicians, the answer is yes. Not only are more and more American citizens verbally threatening their leaders, but more and more Americans are openly expressing their support for acts of political violence. Political violence, as defined by the Oxford Reference, is a type of violence that includes acts of terrorism, political unrest, assassinations, and more. A Time magazine poll found that 23 percent of Americans support this level of violence. Given that nearly a quarter of the nation’s population supports violence against the U.S. government and its officials, statistically speaking, government officials and politicians are more likely to be victims of violent attacks than the average American.

With the inclusion of terrorism in the definition of political violence, the risk of death for American politicians has increased. According to data from the Government Accountability Office (Gao.gov), there were 231 reported incidents of domestic terrorism in the United States between 2010 and 2021. One third of them (73 incidents) were recorded as being caused by anti-state extremism. Between 1988 and 2001, two American politicians, Arnold L. Raphel and Jasper Baxter, were killed in terrorist attacks. In March 2023, domestic terrorism investigations increased by 357 percent compared to the previous decade. As the average American becomes safer, public officials, statistically speaking, become increasingly targeted.

Should this fact be comforting to the average citizen, or is it a sign of something more serious? For members of the United States government, perhaps it should be the same.