America was shaken by the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, at the hands of a Left-wing radical in Utah on September 10.
Kirk, a devoted husband, father, and man of faith, was remembered over the weekend by tens of thousands of supporters who filled an NFL stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for his memorial service, with millions more watching online.
In the aftermath of his assassination, however, a national debate has erupted over the rising wave of Left-wing violence in this country. Stepping in as guest host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Vice President JD Vance addressed the issue head-on:
We have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of Left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years and, I believe, is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin’s bullet.
Vice President Vance is right. Over the past decade, America has witnessed a disturbing surge in Left-wing violence. In fact, a new Daily Wire exclusive report just revealed that the suspect in the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh identifies as a transgender woman.
The violence is real and is now showing up in myriad locations. Here are just a few of the most alarming examples.
The Congressional Baseball Game Shooting
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
On June 14, 2017, a gunman opened fire during a practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game in Alexandria, Virginia. The shooter, 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, wounded four people: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner, congressional aide Zack Barth, and lobbyist Matt Mika.
The attack sparked a ten-minute shootout between Hodgkinson and responding officers from both the U.S. Capitol Police and Alexandria Police. Hodgkinson was eventually shot by police and later died from his injuries. Scalise and Mika were transported to local hospitals, where both required surgery.
Hodgkinson was a Left-wing activist from Belleville, Illinois, with a criminal record of domestic violence. The Virginia Attorney General concluded the attack was “an act of terrorism … fueled by rage against Republican legislators.”
2020 George Floyd Riots
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Throughout 2020, Left-wing riots spread across the United States, affecting over 2,000 cities. The unrest began on May 26, 2020, in Minneapolis following the death of 46-year-old George Floyd during an arrest related to a counterfeit $20 bill.
Floyd had an extensive criminal history that included numerous drug offenses, criminal trespassing, armed robbery of a family, and counterfeiting.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy reported that Floyd had 11 ng/mL of fentanyl in his system at the time of his death. In the subsequent trial of Officer Derek Chauvin, the defense cited this, along with Floyd’s other health conditions, as contributing factors in his death.
Chauvin was still found guilty, and apologists for the nationwide violence continue to claim Floyd’s death was a case of police brutality.
At the conclusion of the violence, 19 people lost their lives, over $1 billion in damage was reported, and over 10,000 people were arrested.
The Attempted Assassination Of Donald Trump
Credit: Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images.
On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, former President of the United States and presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, survived an assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump was struck and wounded in the upper right ear by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired eight rounds from an AR-15–style rifle from the roof of a nearby building. The attack also killed one audience member, firefighter Corey Comperatore, and critically injured two others.
While information about Crooks’ political leanings remains seemingly contradictory due to his status as a registered Republican, we do know he donated to a Democrat cause through ActBlue, was bullied in high school for wearing a mask after COVID-19, and attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, the most important conservative political figure of our lifetime.
It’s not exactly a stretch to classify him as a perpetrator of Left-wing violence.
2019 Tacoma ICE Detention Center Attack
David Ryder/Getty Images
On July 13, 2019, Willem van Spronsen, a Dutch-born immigrant and Left-wing activist, attempted to firebomb a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Washington. He was shot and killed by police while trying to ignite a propane tank.
According to police, Van Spronsen identified as an anarchist and claimed affiliation with Antifa.
Van Spronsen had written a manifesto outlining why he attacked the ICE facility. In the document, he declared that “it’s time to take action against the forces of evil.”
The rise of Left-wing violence is alarming, though not surprising. Since President Trump’s 2016 campaign, Left-wing politicians, pundits, and activists have consistently labeled Right-leaning figures with extreme and inflammatory terms.
From The Daily Show comparing Trump to Hitler, to Democrat mouthpiece Harry J. Sisson calling Charlie Kirk a “racist piece of trash” who should “just put the Klan hood on,” the deceptive strategy has been persistent.
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Jacob Falach is an associate producer at The Daily Wire. You can find him on Instagram at: @jacobfalach.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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