Concerns over political violence, defined as “a particular form of repression involving the threat to use or actual use of physical force to achieve political goals,” are an increasing part of America’s political discourse. In particular, multiple news reports have highlighted the risk of political violence occurring after this fall's historically contentious presidential election if the losing side views the victor as illegitimate.
Here are Five Facts on political violence in America.
- America is ranked 50th in a global ranking of countries most affected by political violence.
According to the nonpartisan organization ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data), which tracks political violence around the world, the U.S. ranks as a “turbulent” country, which puts it in the same category as countries like Iran and South Africa. The ACLED index ranks countries based on the deadliness of the political violence, the danger political violence poses to civilians, how widespread the violence is, and how many different armed groups are participating in the political violence – the U.S. ranks a concerning 31st in the world for the last category.
- Between January 2021 and August 2023, there were at least 18 deadly political attacks in the U.S. that killed 39 people.
A Reuters report found that these incidents were among 213 cases of political violence that took place within that time span. Gary LaFree, a University of Maryland criminologist interviewed for the story, noted that political violence sharply rose in 2016 and is continuing to rise, saying, “It doesn’t seem like we’ve hit the top of the wave yet.”
- Threats against members of Congress increased tenfold from 2016 to 2021, according to Capitol Police data.
However, members of Congress aren’t alone in the increased threats. One analysis from the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point found that the number of federal charges for threats to public officials rose from an average of 38 per year (2013-2016) to 62 per year (2017-2022). The most common targets were law enforcement/military officials (43 percent) and elected/election officials (41 percent).
- Two-thirds of Americans believe political violence could take place after the 2024 election.
A poll by Reuters and Ipsos conducted this May found that 83 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of Republican respondents agreed with a statement that they were concerned that extremists will resort to violence if they are unhappy with the election outcome. Council on Foreign Relations research fellow Jacob Ware writes that in the aftermath of the election, “Attacks against government buildings and/or law enforcement officials will likely be the preferred means as violent extremists aim to take the fight directly to those they deem responsible for malfeasance.”
- Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults think violence may be necessary to save the country.
According to an October 2023 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institution, 23 percent of Americans agreed that "because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” The survey found that one-third of Republicans share that view, compared with 13 percent of Democrats and 22 percent of independents.
