(NewsReady.com) – As the 2024 election draws nearer, many Americans are concerned about political violence. In December, a poll from Navigator found 83% of respondents were worried about the issue. A nonprofit organization recently warned about an increase in threats.
Advance Democracy President Daniel Jones spoke to UPI about an increase in violent rhetoric and threats across the US. The organization was founded in 2017 by Jones, who is a former FBI analyst and Senate investigator. He said that he spent much of his career investigating terrorism, and now he’s focused on domestic terrorism.
The judges overseeing the cases against former President Donald Trump have received a lot of threats and other hate. US District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, and the Colorado Supreme Court justices have all received bomb threats, death threats, or been swatted. Swatting is when someone calls law enforcement and reports a serious emergency, like a shooting, so that heavily armed SWAT officers show up. Several politicians on both sides of the aisle have also been swatting. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has had it happen multiple times.
According to Jones, X (formerly Twitter) has been a hotbed for violent rhetoric since Elon Musk took it over. But Facebook has also seen a rise in threatening rhetoric as well. Both companies have cut the number of employees who monitor disinformation on the platforms.
The terms “insurrection” and “civil war” increased dramatically after the Colorado Supreme Court decided Trump was not qualified to be on the primary ballot.
It’s not just judges that Conservatives are angry at who have received hate. After the US Supreme Court’s preliminary decision reversing federal abortion protections leaked, the conservative justices on the court were targeted at their homes. Protesters blocked the streets and harassed them. The government ended up increasing security around the high court.
As the election season gets underway, the violence is expected to get worse.
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