Amid Trump assassination attempt, fears of political violence reach new heights

Concerns about the rising prevalence of violent threats and a growing list of violent attacks on politicians were punctuated Saturday when a gunman killed at least one person during an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

The shooting immediately sparked concerns that the already-heated election cycle would lead to more violence.

"In a country where a great many Americans do not believe that their democracy is healthy or particularly functional, and where a large majority of Americans believe that the domestic political opposition is out to destroy that democracy, this is the worst sort of event that can happen in that environment," Ian Bremmer, a political scientist and president of the Eurasia Group, said in a video posted online shortly after the shooting.

Bremmer added that he was "deeply worried that it presages much more political violence and social instability to come."

University of Chicago professor Robert Pape, director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, said in an email that a national survey he helped conduct in June found that 10% of American adults, a third of whom own guns, agreed that the “use of force is justified to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president.”

"We also need to worry about threats in retribution to President Biden. Our survey shows 7% of American adults (18 million) support force to restore Trump to the presidency, half of whom own guns," Pape said.

"Political leaders from both parties and at all levels of government — the President, Senate and House leadership, governors, and mayors must immediately condemn political violence from whichever side of politics it arises," he added.

Political scientists and extremism experts have been warning in recent