"A new report warns that rising left-wing support for political violence, fueled by online “assassination culture,” threatens the foundations of civil discourse and democracy."
"After all, during the four years of the Biden Administration, the right did not engage in a similar wave of violence, let alone have it ignored or condoned by the media. In fact, it was the federal government under a leftist president that used its police and surveillance powers to infringe upon the constitutional rights and civil liberties of its opponents."
"Writing in City Journal, Zack Dulberg and Max Horder, senior fellows at the Network Contagion Research Institute, examined the results of a recent survey to determine why America has experienced a disturbing increase in political violence. The answer should surprise no objective observer: “Progressives increasingly support violence.”
We found that nearly one-third of Americans surveyed—and around half of those identifying as left-of-center—believe that the murder of certain public figures is at least somewhat justified. The figures are startling: 38 percent of respondents, and 55 percent of those left of center, said assassinating President Trump would be at least somewhat justified; 31 percent of respondents, and 48 percent of those left of center, said the same about Musk. Forty percent of respondents, and 58 percent of those left of center, deem it at least somewhat acceptable to “destroy a Tesla dealership” in protest.
"Further, based upon their findings, Mr. Dulberg and Mr. Horder have identified the disease ravaging the body politic:
Our report also discovered an online “assassination culture,” found in predominantly left-leaning digital spaces, such as Bluesky and Reddit. This subculture justifies and glorifies political violence. Some of these networks’ users wield the name “Luigi” or use the Luigi video game character as coded endorsements of Brian Thompson’s alleged assassin, Luigi Mangione. These users cloak explicit calls for violence in stylized memes. Many believe that political murder and sabotage are acceptable forms of protest.
"And again, as the authors stress, this is no longer a phenomenon on the fringe of the public square: “This ‘assassination culture’ incubated on social media has migrated from the margins of public life into the mainstream.” . . .
"Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter (M.C., Ret.) served Michigan’s 11th Congressional District from 2003-2012, He served as chair of the Republican House Policy Committee and as a member of the Financial Services, Joint Economic, Budget, Small Business, and International Relations Committees."