A man who attempted to burn peaceful protesters alive stood in court a thousand miles removed from mourners paying their respects to an elected official assassinated by another man bent by extremist political views.
Each represents one more data point in a country where political violence has become a new norm.
Here in Colorado, the man who threw Molotov cocktails at peaceful demonstrators appeared before a federal magistrate after being indicted on 12 hate crime counts. Chilling video and firsthand recounts of that day detail him approaching the group, clad in jeans and sunglasses, before hurtling a flaming accelerant at the shocked targets.
As onlookers tried to douse the flames that engulfed the demonstrators, the shirtless attacker continued to menace them crying “Free Palestine!” over their burned bodies. While the state prosecution for 118 counts of attempted murder should be open and shut, the federal hate-crime counts may be on less firm footing. Prosecutors will need to prove he targeted his victims for their race or religion and have based their case on his stated goal “to kill all Zionist people.”
His defense argued that political opinions cannot be the basis for hate-crimes.
Despite the legal hair-splitting, that is exactly what has driven similar attacks over the past several years. Hatred of differing political positions, hatred of elected officials from opposing political parties, hatred of policies advocated by one group or another. Hate is the fundamental political driver in the country today, and this violence is the inevitable result.
Much of the change can and should be traced back to President Donald Trump. All of his campaigns have been based on ugly slanders and conspiracy theories intended to foment hatred for his opponents in his followers. He started his rise to the presidency by lambasting migrants — a perpetual boogeyman he has used to great effect — as “bringing drugs … bringing crime … rapists.”
But he quickly pivoted to name-calling his primary opponents and feeding conspiracy theories in his stump speeches. He made outlandish claims with such frequency that fact-checking became a Sisyphean endeavor for journalists. And his supporters loved him for it.
We thought it had culminated in the insurrection he fomented on Jan. 6, 2021. The violence we all witnessed that day cost lives and shattered the image of American democracy. Despite efforts by Trump and his sycophants to convince the country that our eyes lied to us, most Americans look back at the moment with shame.
Now with Trump returned to office, even United States senators admit to being “afraid” to use their voices for fear of being targeted. Trump has used that fear to cow any would-be detractors who know that it only takes one comment from him to create a wave of unhinged antagonists for any member of the GOP who steps out of line.
Of course, Trump himself would later become a target of a mind twisted by the political environment he created. We are only a couple weeks away from the one-year anniversary of a would-be-assassin firing eight shots at Trump.
It also would not be fair to assert that only Trump and his ilk have resorted to violence. In just the past few weeks radicalized supporters of Palestinians in Gaza have committed two atrocious acts of violence on American soil. First, a lone-gunman murdered two Israeli diplomats in Washington, D.C. last month. That was followed by the horrific scene in Boulder.
Only weeks later a man in Minnesota impersonating a police officer assassinated one Democratic official and her husband in their home before attempting to kill another later that night. Later it became clear that the killer had a long list of Democratic officials he hoped to murder.
In another time, this direct attack on elected officials would have been a time for unity and a national condemnation of political violence. Certainly that was the message relayed when former President Joe Biden went to the Minnesota State Capitol to pay his respects to the former lawmaker gunned down in her home.
But the current president has made no effort to condemn the killings. To the contrary, when asked about calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — the running mate for Trump’s 2024 election opponent — Trump used the occasion to attack Walz and referred to calling Walz as a waste of time.
The lack of empathy and condemnation will be read as implicit condonation for too many.
That leaves the country in the most dangerous moment since the Civil War. The increased acceptance of political violence as a regular part of our government ecosystem is antithetical to democracy. Fear of physical harm and death silence the opposing voices necessary for a democracy to thrive.
For almost 250 years, America has been a safe refuge for democracy and those voices to be heard. It will not last much longer if we continue down our current path.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on Bluesky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy. Learn how to submit a column. Reach the opinion editor at [email protected].
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