Three months into 2024, it seems dire predictions of political violence are now commonly issued both by the country’s extreme fringes as well as from the mainstream. Former President Donald Trump has been perhaps the most vociferous prognosticator, warning that there would be “bedlam in the country” should the criminal charges against him lead to a 2024 election loss. Nowadays, even seemingly mundane political procedures can also result in promises of violence. When the US Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration in January, allowing federal border agents to remove concertina wire put in place by the state of Texas, some in elected office said it was a sign of civil war. In its threat assessment for 2024, the Department of Homeland Security forecast that, among other threats, the 2024 election cycle would be a “key event for possible violence…”
Opinion by Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware
Editor’s Note: Bruce Hoffman is senior fellow for counterterrorism and homeland security at the Council of Foreign Relations and a professor at Georgetown University. Jacob Ware is a research fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and DeSales University. This article is adapted in part from their new book, “God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America” (Columbia Univ. Press). The views expressed in this commentary are their own.
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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/16/opinions/us-brink-of-civil-war-hoffman-ware/index.html