The possibility of political violence erupting on Nov. 4, 2020, the day after our next presidential election, is a horrible scenario. But it is not unprecedented in the U.S. Our nation has seen widespread political violence going back to class-based clashes in the late 1700s, racial and ethnic turmoil in the 1800s and 1900s, and anti-government violence in the 1970s and beyond.
Today, the U.S. is experiencing a sustained rise in hate speech, hate groups and hate-inspired violence. A 2019 study showed that 9 percent of both Republicans and Democrats say that violence is at least occasionally acceptable. However, when asked to imagine an electoral loss of the presidency in 2020, support for violence jumps to 18 percent for Democrats and 13 percent for Republicans — almost one-third of our citizens. This, combined with the well-documented increase in public rhetoric that condones violence and attacks the legitimacy of U.S. democratic institutions, sets us up for the worst-case.
How could this happen in America?