America’s political system is under stress as voters and their leaders navigate unfamiliar terrain

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The FBI is investigating suspicious packages sent to elections officials in more than a dozen states. State police have begun sweeps of schools in an Ohio community where conspiracy theories have fueled bomb threats. Violent rhetoric is rippling across social media.

And for the second time in nine weeks, a gunman apparently sought to assassinate Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

This year’s campaign for the White House was always going to be fraught, the first presidential election to play out in the wake of an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, an act of political violence steeped in the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

But the series of unnerving developments has crystalized the volatility coursing through the country in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign. A political system long lauded for its resilience and durability is being tested, with law enforcement, political leaders and voters navigating complex and unfamiliar terrain.

In Flint, the Michigan city where a contaminated water crisis became a symbol of government ineptitude nearly a decade ago, some who gathered for a Trump event this week seemed almost resigned to a new and dangerous normal.

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