“It’s a both sides problem, and both sides need to tone down the rhetoric.” That’s the mantra we have heard repeatedly after each violent political attack over the last 15 months. And yet, it seems as if a disproportionate number of these attacks are inspired by left-wing political rhetoric. Without acknowledging the source of this uptick in violence, it will inevitably continue to rise. This week, the Senate held a hearing in an attempt to do just that.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, held the hearing titled “Politically Violent Attacks: A Threat to Our Constitutional Order.” In his opening remarks, he noted that the rash of violent attacks that we’ve seen lately – from assassinations, riots, armed ambushes, to bombings – are not random, but are “organized, coordinated political terror.” He argued that “[radical Democrats] know that their vision could never win at the ballot box, so they have chosen terrorism instead. They know their ideas could not win in the marketplace of ideas, so they shoot up the marketplace.”
This would sound like hyperbolic partisan speech if not for the fact that the receipts exist. The Atlantic, no bastion of conservative thought, acknowledged left-wing terrorist outnumbers those from the right, and they are on the rise. An NPR/Marist poll came out in in early October that showed 30% of U.S. adults believe Americans may need to resort to political violence to get the country back on track. That is up 11 points since March 2024, an increase fueled largely by changing sentiments on the left. In 2024, 12% of Democrats agreed with that statement; now, 28% do.
One of the largest instigators of political violence is the radical left-wing organization Antifa. Though many argue that Antifa is merely an ideological movement with no leadership or organization, the evidence increasingly contradicts that. At the hearing, Former Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security talked about his experience with Antifa. In Portland, he witnessed the Antifa cells there were “well-organized, well-funded, being resupplied daily.”
In September, the White House designated Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization. Kyle Shideler, the Director for Homeland Security & Counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, described the evidence that justifies that move and counters the idea that this is merely a political movement. For example, Antifa provides instructions on what you need to believe to be a member, as well as what you need to do in order to join, both characteristics that mark it as an organized group. Antifa has training materials that include how to destroy critical infrastructure such as 5G networks and rail systems for trains, as has been used in several train derailment incidents in the Pacific Northwest.
The most obvious example of political violence though are the targeted attacks on political opponents. President Trump was millimeters away from losing his life in Butler, Pennsylvnia, during the 2024 campaign, and that was followed by two more assassination attempts. A man was arrested for showing up at Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanuagh’s home with a pistol with ammunition, zip ties, a tactical knife, a hammer, a screwdriver, a crowbar, duct tape, and a desire to murder a man partly responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade. And just little more than a month ago was the heinous murder of Charlie Kirk, a man who built his career on the idea that people just needed to have more conservations about their different political beliefs. And this just to name a few.
But despite the fact that conservatives were the target in each of these examples, high profile political leaders continue to say that violent activism is a both sides problem. The most astounding moment of the hearing was when it was time for Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) to say his piece. Rather than question any of the witnesses, he spent his allotted seven minutes expounding on the need for everyone to be introspective about the source of political violence, to “name it and condemn it and commit ourselves to doing something about it.” Though he never did name or condemn any possible source.
Conservative political commentator Michael Knowles, one of the witnesses, agreed with Sen. Booker’s claim that in order to stop the violence, we must acknowledge what is causing it. He then cited Booker’s enthusiastic endorsement of Jay Jones, saying that “Jay Jones has the vision, commitment, and integrity to keep Virginia families safe.” Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General, has garnered national attention for sending text messages calling for the murder of a Republican legislator (along with his wife and kids). When Knowles looked up to the dais to encourage Booker to be introspective of his own words, he saw that Booker had left the hearing room. A more fitting example of the Left’s refusal to acknowledge their role in the current state of American politics could not have been scripted.
Senator Booker, who continues to endorse a man that called for the murder of Republicans and our kids, seems to have run away before I had the chance to respond to his demand that we tone down the rhetoric. pic.twitter.com/0wy0n77V7W
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) October 28, 2025
Not only must the source of this violence be acknowledged, but it must be punished, and with a sentence that is commensurate with the crime. Knowles was himself the victim of a political attack; before a 2023 speaking engagement at the University of Pittsburgh, dozens of left-wing protestors rioted outside of the event, burned Knowles’ effigy, and even used smoke bombs to attack the police, which resulted in “life-altering injuries to a female officer.” Two of the protestors were prosecuted and charged, but one received a five-year jail sentence and his wife got three years’ probation. Knowles stated that this attack was “attempted murder, the kind of crime that merits life in prison.” Not handing out proper sentences for political violence all but encourages it to continue.
There is no place for political violence in a nation built on the idea of freedom of speech. Each American should feel free to express their political opinions and engage in open debate. But the fact is that many don’t. And while there are radicals on both sides, there is one ideological faction that is inciting and encouraging this kind of activism with abandon, the radical left. A problem cannot be addressed until we acknowledge it exists.
