The recent violent incidents in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania—both targeting public officials and rooted in extremist ideology—underscore the urgent and growing threat of political violence in the United States. From a 17-year-old who allegedly murdered his parents as part of a neo-Nazi plot to assassinate the former president, to an arsonist who attempted to harm Governor Josh Shapiro reportedly out of hatred and anti-government rage, these cases underscore an alarming trend: political violence in the U.S. is growing and more difficult to predict. All this while federal authorities are dismantling efforts to address extremism in the country.
The Trump administration has abandoned key efforts to counter white supremacist and far-right terrorism, gutting programs and diverting resources from law enforcement agencies and prevention programs intended to address the rising threat of extremist violence. These rollbacks not only weaken the federal government’s ability to respond to domestic terrorism but also send a troubling signal of tolerance—or even complicity—for extremist ideologies.
“Whether it’s a teenager embracing neo-Nazi ideology or an adult targeting a governor because of hate and antigovernment rage, the common thread is a radicalized worldview that leads to political violence,” said Wendy Via, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE). “Now, with dangerous rhetoric normalized in our everyday political discourse, it is all the more important for federal authorities to take this threat seriously and for all political figures to publicly denounce extremism.”
As radical ideologies spread across digital networks and enter mainstream discourse, more individuals are drawn into a climate of hatred and violence. Without immediate and sustained efforts to monitor and counter this threat, these attacks will not only become more frequent—they will grow more coordinated, more deadly, and more deeply embedded in our society.
“If our government continues to ignore the systemic rise of extremism, we will see more violent incidents—more deadly attacks—with deeper ties to extremism, far-right radicalization, and online hate spaces. The threats we face are real, dangerous, and given appropriate effort, preventable,” added Heidi Beirich, co-founder of GPAHE.
