One in three Americans under 45 now believe political violence is at least sometimes justified. That stark reality tears through the veneer of our civic discourse—and it demands an immediate, uncompromising response from every leader who cherishes order, free speech and the rule of law.
Younger voters are far more receptive to political violence than their elders. Roughly one-third of 18-to-44-year-olds say force has its place in politics. Among all adults, nearly one-quarter openly admit they can imagine circumstances that warrant violence against opponents. Those figures are intolerable in a republic founded on peaceful debate and the sanctity of individual rights.
This epidemic of acceptance didn’t appear overnight. Radical rhetoric from the Left has normalized threats and intimidation. College campuses have become breeding grounds for anarchic chants and chants of “burn it down.” Social-media mobs amplify calls for retribution. And Democratic politicians—rather than condemn this climate—too often indulge it with half-measures and empty words.
By contrast, conservative leaders have been unwavering: political violence must never be tolerated. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham put it best at last month’s Judiciary Committee hearing: “If we allow domestic terrorism under the guise of cancel culture, we’re forfeiting the foundations of our republic.” He’s right. There can be no equivocation when fists replace ballots and threats supplant persuasion.
Law enforcement agrees that the threat is real and rising. Federal and local agencies report a steady uptick in threats against judges, poll workers and public officials. Armed plots and incendiary attacks have surged across state lines. The fact that more than half of American voters now expect political violence to increase reflects an emboldened fringe ready to act on its darkest impulses.
This moment calls for decisive action on multiple fronts:
• Enforce existing laws: Prosecutors must pursue every credible threat without fear or favor. When words cross the line into violence or intimidation, they must meet swift justice.
• Secure polling places and public institutions: State officials have a duty to protect the ballot box and the halls of government from coercion and chaos.
• Reclaim the campuses: Universities should expel agitators who preach violence and restore academic freedom to students who come to learn, not to demolish.
• Demand political accountability: Elected leaders who wink at or rationalize violence must face electoral consequences. Silence in the face of threats is complicity with anarchy.
Republican lawmakers are already mobilizing. In the House, Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan has announced plans to hold hearings exposing any federal agency that tolerates partisan intimidation. Governors in conservative states are boosting security at courthouses and legislative buildings. Grass-roots activists are organizing training sessions on nonviolent civic engagement.
Still, the highest burden falls on the American people. Each citizen must reject the notion that violence is ever a rightful tool of persuasion. Our parents and grandparents defended this nation with sacrifice; we have an obligation to pass intact the ideals they bequeathed us.
Make no mistake: the hard right and the hard left both flirt with force when rhetoric fails them. But it is the conservative commitment to ordered liberty that can steer us back from the brink. We hold firm to the Constitution, not to rally cries. We trust ballots, not bayonets.
This crisis won’t disappear on its own. The tolerance of political violence is metastasizing across generations. Unless patriots—especially young Americans—stand up for debate over destruction, we risk surrendering our future to the same brutality our grandparents fought overseas.
Now is the time for a unified front. Speak out. Vote out apologists for mob rule. Demand that every public official, from city council to the Oval Office, condemn political violence in clear, unmistakable terms. If we fail, we relinquish everything our republic represents. If we succeed, we preserve the greatest experiment in human freedom the world has ever known.
