Political violence in America is shifting from high-profile leaders to local officials and families
In short: While history focuses on presidential assassinations, 21st-century American political violence increasingly targets state legislators, judges, and the families of public servants. Data from the Princeton Bridging Divides Initiative confirms that this risk environment has escalated significantly since 2025, moving beyond traditional political figures to create a broader, more dangerous landscape.
The nature of political violence in the United States has evolved. While the public often fixates on the historical assassinations of presidents like Abraham Lincoln or John F. Kennedy, the 21st century has seen a disturbing trend where violence is directed at a wider range of targets. This includes state-level politicians, governors, and even the relatives of officials. Notable incidents include the 2011 shooting of Representative Gabby Giffords, the 2017 targeting of Representative Steve Scalise at a baseball practice, and the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. In some cases, the violence has reached into the private lives of public servants, such as the 2020 murder of federal judge Esther Salas’s son, Daniel Anderl, and the 2022 assault on Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
According to the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) at Princeton, the risk of political violence intensified throughout 2025 and has continued to worsen into 2026. This escalation is not limited to one side of the political spectrum; it affects public servants across the aisle. Experts identify several factors contributing to this trend, including inflammatory rhetoric, partisan division, and the erosion of traditional security resources. Federal funding cuts to programs meant for election security and violence prevention have further exacerbated these vulnerabilities, leaving local communities to fill the gap through grassroots monitoring and data-sharing networks.
Despite the current dangerous trajectory, researchers emphasize that further escalation is not inevitable. BDI’s analysis highlights that proactive coordination among community leaders and the expansion of de-escalation skills are effective tools for mitigation. By focusing on these local resilience models, communities can blunt the impact of threats. The data serves as both a warning and a resource, suggesting that while the current climate is fraught with risk, deliberate action and community-level cooperation remain viable paths to fostering a healthier democratic environment.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Political Violence in the U.S. in the 21st Century | Examples, Charlie Kirk, Gabby Giffords, Steve Scalise, Esther Salas, Gretchen Whitmer, Paul Pelosi, Josh Shapiro, & Melissa Hortman | Britannica
- Also: New Data from Princeton SPIA Initiative Shows Political Violence in U.S. is on the Rise | Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
- Also: Political violence in the United States
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