Political Violence In America: Unpacking The Data

Written By Guest User

Plus: Late-Night Hosts React To Kimmel Suspension

Before we get to today’s headlines, here’s a glimpse of what’s ahead for all of us this weekend in our weekly ‘Cheers to the Freakin’ Weekend’ section:

What We’re Watching:

What We’re Reading:

What We’re Eating:

  • Mosh: Texas barbecue 🍗

  • Jill: Apples and honey, brisket for Rosh HaShanah

  • Lauren: Olazzo ~Bethesda, MD

  • Sam: Dill-icious food from Picklefest Canada 🥒

Have a great weekend!

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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

The Divide Over Political Violence: Perception Vs. Reality

The debate over political violence has exploded in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder last week. New polling, commentary, and government actions are adding fuel — with some (including the president) blaming the “radical left,” while there is data showing the far right has been to blame for more violence in recent decades.

  • Vice President JD Vance claimed earlier this week that liberals are “much likelier to defend and celebrate political violence,” citing fresh YouGov polling that found around a quarter of very liberal Americans say it is acceptable to feel happy about a political opponent's death. That’s compared to 3% of very conservative respondents. A similar breakdown was found when asked if political violence is justified, with younger liberals especially likely to agree.

But context is important to consider, especially in the aftermath of an event as shocking and traumatic as the assassination of a political leader.

THE DATA DEBATE
Timing matters: for example, people are far more likely to describe political violence as a “very big problem” after someone they agree with is attacked. That was apparent in the aftermath of Kirk’s murder, the assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman, and the attempted attacks on Trump and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

It also matters how polling questions are asked: an earlier survey, conducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, found that Republicans expressed more support for violence when it was presented as something that “true American patriots” must resort to in order “to save our country.”

Bottom line: The reality is more complicated than any single poll or talking point.

“What is interesting is the way polls work, folks, is you can often get a different result based on the way you ask questions and that’s important to think about here,” Mosh explains on this week’s episode of the #AMA podcast — exclusively for Mo News Premium members.

VIOLENT ACTS
Acts of political violence have been perpetrated by both right- and left-wing extremists. The volatile period of the 1960s and early 1970s saw more acts of political violence committed by left-wing extremists, while right-wing violence was more prevalent from around 1972—2018, according to one expert. Recently, researchers say we’re seeing a rise in violent acts committed by people with leftist views, no dominant political views, or a mix of fringe ideologies.

A major survey from the University of Maryland’s terrorism research program found that between 1948–2018, right-wing extremists were about twice as likely to engage in violent behavior, compared with left-wing extremists (about 560 far-right cases vs 120 far-left).

  • Data from the conservative Cato Institute shows that, excluding 9/11, right-wing extremists were behind 63% of politically-motivated or terrorist attacks, while left-wing extremists were behind 10%. Jihadists were behind 23% (down from 87% when you include 9/11).

  • Last week, the Justice Department removed from its website a study showing that far-right extremists carried out the vast majority of ideologically motivated homicides since 1990.

Complicating factor: Many recent acts of violence have been committed by people who do not fit squarely into the right or left — including the suspect in Kirk’s murder. They are more likely linked by radical ideologies that exist in extreme corners of the internet.

WHY IT MATTERS
Experts say the real danger is a self-reinforcing cycle: partisans wildly overestimate their opponents’ support for violence — sometimes by four times as much. That fear risks fueling the next act.

“This era of violent populism will get worse before it gets better,” political violence expert Robert Pape told The Wall Street Journal. “We’re headed for more trouble.”

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🚨 ONE THING WE’RE FOLLOWING

Late-Night Hosts "Flatter" Trump After Kimmel Suspension

Late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart joked during their Thursday shows that the only way to stay on air was by flattering President Trump.

The bits came a day after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel's show, following FCC backlash to a Monday monologue in which Kimmel suggested Charlie Kirk’s killer might be a MAGA supporter.

NEW TONE
Fallon's Thursday monologue was repeatedly “corrected” by an announcer praising Trump’s looks and actions. Colbert — whose show is in its final season amid speculation about a CBS deal to appease the administration — revived his old conservative "Colbert Report" persona. Meanwhile, Stewart promised his show would be “administration compliant.”

  • Colbert later struck a more serious tone, saying he stood by Kimmel and warned that Trump was an “autocrat” who “you cannot give an inch” to.

Censorship in comedy is nothing new. The U.S. courts have upheld that comedians have the right to speak freely, but that certain materials are limited on public airwaves. That’s why cable networks outside FCC regulation have some of the most provocative shows.

"Standup comedy as we all understand it, modern-era standup comedy, only existed in America because of free speech,” comic Kamau Bell said Thursday, noting legal battles fought by Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Dick Gregory to secure standups’ rights.

The other side: Many conservatives, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), note there is no love lost over these shows going off the air. Some Americans find comics’ criticism of Trump irritating, and with ratings already slipping, they argue the shows could have been canceled for financial reasons soon enough.

Still, even Cruz called it “dangerous” for the FCC to be threatening the media.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

  • Protest outside Broadview ICE facility erupts as federal agents deploy chemicals, drag demonstrators (CBS), a day after several New York officials were arrested in protest at Manhattan ICE office (ABC)

  • Government shutdown looms after Senate rejects House-passed stopgap funding bill (THE HILL)

  • Judge tosses out Trump's $15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times for being too long (FOX)

  • Trump administration asks Supreme Court to intervene in dispute over sex markers on passports (CBS)

  • Arrest made in ‘hate-based’ DC shooting death of transgender woman (WTOP)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

  • Russia invades the airspace of another NATO country (MO NEWS) as European Commission proposes fresh round of sanctions (EURO NEWS)

  • IDF warns it will use ‘unprecedented force’ in Gaza City as 480,000 Palestinians believed to have fled (TIMES OF ISRAEL)

  • Paramilitary drone attack on a mosque in Sudan kills at least 70 people, army says (AP)

  • Taliban releases elderly British couple from Afghanistan detention (AL JAZEERA)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

  • CDC panel delays vote on newborns’ Hepatitis B shot (MO NEWS)

  • iPhone 17 and other new Apple products go on sale globally as Apple faces China rivals and concerns over AI (CNBC)

  • New Fed governor Stephen Miran says he is not "concerned" tariffs have raised inflation (AXIOS)

  • Toyota and Hyundai recall more than 1.1 million vehicles for seat belt, panel display problems (AP)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

  • Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ movie sets release via AMC theaters (DEADLINE)

  • D4vd tour dates removed from websites after the discovery of a girl’s body in Los Angeles (AP)

  • Songwriter Brett James among 3 killed in small plane crash in North Carolina (ABC)

  • Former UFC champion Rampage Jackson's son, Raja, arrested on assault charge (ESPN)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Today is the second most popular birthday in the U.S. So we want to wish, likely a few of you, happy birthday 🎂. If it feels like everyone you know has a September birthday — you’re right. Nine of the 10 most popular birthdays in the U.S. fall in the first three weeks of September.

  • What’s going on? Rewind nine months and you hit the holiday season—between Christmas and New Year’s, when conception rates spike. The one outlier, July 7th, may be tied to the July 4th holiday (with OB-GYNs scheduling inductions afterward) or simply the lucky “7/7” date.

Guest User
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FCC Boss After Jimmy Kimmel Suspended: 'We're Not Done Yet'