Fox News: Left-Wing Political Violence Becoming ‘Normalized’

Earlier this year, Tesla dealerships were engulfed in flames. Many people who owned Teslas saw them vandalized or were harassed. This, at least the arson, was low-level violence at a minimum, and some of the harassment crossed the line into threats.

At the time, I was concerned about escalation, especially following the attempts on Donald Trump’s life. The attempt on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, as pathetic as it might have been, was evidence that my concerns were warranted.

And with Charlie Kirk’s assassination, it hasn’t gotten any better.

According to an expert on Fox News, though, the problem is that left-wing violence is becoming normalized.

Researchers are sounding the alarm about a rise in “assassination culture” — the same thing Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk warned of months before a sniper’s bullet took his life as he spoke in front of a crowd of students on a Utah college campus last week.

The Network Contagion Research Institute and the Rutgers University Social Perception Lab teamed up in a recent nonprobability-based intelligence report on the issue, warning that arsons targeting Tesla cars and the idea of “killing billionaires” has become a “meme aesthetic for political violence” — especially among the far-left.

“Political violence targeting Donald Trump and Elon Musk is becoming increasingly normalized,” researchers warned, citing the attempt on Trump’s life during a campaign rally last year. “Following the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of President Trump, tolerance — and even advocacy — for political violence appears to have surged, especially among politically left-leaning segments of the population.”

“Oh, they’re just saying that because of Charlie Kirk’s killing.”

No. They published this back in April. That’s well before Kirk was murdered. If anything, it was prompted by the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

And there’s a reason they think it’s normalized, other than bad things happening.

The NCRI report was published in April — months before Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a Turning Point USA-sponsored event at Utah Valley University in Orem.

According to survey data highlighted in the report, more than 30% of respondents said it would be “at least somewhat justified to murder” prominent billionaires. The number rose to 50% for people who self-identified as “left of center.”

So nearly half of all people who identify as “left” in some manner favor political violence against their opponents.

While most are never going to act on that, no matter how much they think it’s justified, it does create a culture among many on the left that will encourage those capable of planning and carrying out such an attack. That’s what seems to have been the case with Kirk’s assassination.

And let’s understand how many left-leaning influencers are screaming for violence. Hasan Piker, who is one of the most popular streamers on the Twitch platform, has long celebrated terrorism and called for the murder of those with whom he disagrees. Another streamer who goes by the name Destiny has even called for the “genocide” of conservatives.

Now, many point to the murder of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and January 6th to “prove” the right is more violent, and while January 6th wasn’t a banner day for the right, the vast majority of the people who took part basically took an unguided tour of the Capitol. Hortman’s murder is a different matter, in part because of the letter the alleged killer wrote claiming Gov. Tim Walz wanted him to kill her and other Democrats in the state. Whether this is him trying to lay the groundwork for an insanity plea or he’s absolutely nuts is unclear, which muddies the water a bit.

But even granting that, we’ve seen a lot more from the left, and with people celebrating Kirk’s murder, lamenting that the shooter in Butler missed, and a dozen other examples, at least, it’s clear that the groundwork has been laid for future violence. Especially as influential voices preach violence against ideological enemies without fear of repercussion.

For most of us, that’s mostly just alarming, as we’re not likely to have that high a profile, but the truth is that when you think all people on the right should die, it’s not hard to decide to start a little closer to home.

I probably don’t need to say this, but stay strapped.

Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights, all to leave you defenseless as they embrace more and more violence.

Help us continue to report on and expose the Democrats’ gun control policies and schemes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.