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The United States is experiencing a level of left-wing political violence not seen since the early 1970s, with one key and chilling difference: Today, a radicalized violent extremist can be anywhere.
In the past year or so, we have seen the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah, two near misses for President Trump, the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York, the church shooting in Minnesota in which a transgender assailant allegedly killed two children, and, this week, the killing of two detainees at a Dallas U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
DEMOCRATS WANT A RETURN TO THE WORST OF 1960S RADICALISM AND VIOLENCE
All of these acts of left-wing violence involved online radicalization and, in some cases, links to Antifa, a loose-knit group of left-wing extremists that the Trump administration has designated a domestic terrorist organization.
Unfortunately, most Democrats won’t even admit Antifa exists as its death toll rises.
Between 1969 and 1975, another left-wing domestic terror outfit, the Weather Underground, committed at least 29 acts of political violence, almost all of them in Chicago, New York City, Cambridge, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Outside of these places the group had little to no reach.
To join the Weathermen back then, mostly white, college-age devotees—many from normal-seeming backgrounds, if that sounds familiar—had to show up in person. They might have been from Kansas, but they had to go find the movement. The movement could not effectively come to them.
Two weeks ago, the citizens of sleepy St. George, Utah, woke up to the news that the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk was one of their own and had been radicalized right under their noses.
Similarly, in Dallas—which saw little political violence in the 1970s—we have seen three attacks on ICE offices, the latest by a suspect who drew left-wing messages on his bullets, mirroring the alleged shooter in Utah. Just prior to that attack, I met Cassandra, a Dallas-area fifth grade teacher in her early 30s who discussed the murder of Kirk and political violence in general.
“It gives me anxiety,” she said. “Like, I sit in my car and worry someone is going to slam into me, or I’m going to get shot.”
This was a basic human reaction from somebody who is not, as far as I could tell, particularly invested in politics. It is, of course, the goal of any terrorist to make the general population live in fear until political goals are achieved.
I don’t imagine Cassandra is feeling any more relaxed today.
Part of what causes this anxiety and fear is how invisible those committing today’s left-wing political violence appear to be. There is no clubhouse; there is no Black Panther Party giving out free breakfast to cover for their murders.
These killers learn their ideology and their trade almost exclusively online, in dark corners of the web—places like Reddit and Discord—then they log off and appear in real life, as if from nowhere.
You could be living next door to someone prepared to commit leftist violence, no matter where you live in America.
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There are actual, physical Antifa affiliates, especially in places like Portland and Seattle. We know this because they regularly set federal buildings on fire and beat up journalists. But they are not the biggest threat. Frankly, they could be taken care of quickly if anyone bothered to police them.
No, the real threat—one that is getting people shot at and killed—is the foggy online presence of Antifa and related groups, not just in America but in Europe as well. It is an ideology of evil slowly festering with murderous results.
One does not envy the situation that Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel find themselves in. It must feel like chasing ghosts, as servers and chat groups come into and go out of existence, digital tracks well covered.
What would help them most is if Democrats stopped obstinately claiming that Antifa doesn’t exist, or is just “an idea,” or asking, “Who could be against ‘anti-fascism’?” Not only do radicals take this as tacit approval, it also prevents a united effort to eradicate this violence.
We are nowhere close to the level of political violence that peaked in the 1970s, when bombings felt like weekly occurrences. But we are trending in that direction, and until Democrats are willing to take this threat seriously, it will be very hard for the Trump administration to stop what is coming.
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