Political violence

Cody Balmer pleaded guilty to setting the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion on fire on April 13, while Gov. Josh Shapiro, D, and his family slept inside. While the family was able to evacuate without injury, the building sustained major fire damage. Balmer faces 25 to 50 years in prison on 22 counts of arson, terrorism, aggravated arson, burglary, aggravated assault of Shapiro and 21 counts of reckless endangerment and loitering.

A study by the bipartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) shows a sharp decline in right-wing political violence, while left-wing political violence saw a small uptick during the first half of 2025. The large decline was enough for left-wing violence to overtake right-wing violence for the first time in 30 years, and the report said that political leaders across the spectrum should condemn all forms of political violence.

After a nearly three-week trial, in which Routh represented himself, he was found guilty of trying to assassinate Donald Trump at his golf course in 2024. During the trial, it was revealed that Routh made 17 trips to the golf course while planning the attack, and he was linked to a scoped rifle and a confession letter.

After the earlier shooting and death of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, evidence surfaced that 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson may have confessed to the crime on social media platform Discord. “Hey guys, I have bad news for you all. It was me at UVU yesterday. I’m sorry for all of this,” Robinson allegedly wrote. The messages were written roughly two hours before law enforcement took Robinson into custody.

Conservative commentator and cofounder of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk was shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University, later dying of his wounds. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that one suspect was released, while another is in custody and faces seven charges, including aggravated murder and witness tampering. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the 22-year-old suspect.

A City Council member in Virginia was set on fire on July 30th, which police described as a targeted and personal attack. Director of sales at Showcase Magazine, Lee Vogler was working in his office when an individual entered with a five-gallon bucket of gasoline, pouring it on Vogler then setting him ablaze as he tried to escape the office.

After being captured days after allegedly shooting two Minnesota legislators and their spouses, killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, 57-year-old Vance Boelter was accused with six criminal charges at the federal level, including for the shootings, as well as stalking Hortman and state Sen. John Hoffman.

Early Saturday, June 14, Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman’s home in Champlin, Minnesota, was attacked, with Hoffman and his wife shot multiple times. Shortly after, in Brooklyn Park, the same attacker shot and killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband. The attacks are alleged to have been politically motivated.

An attack on the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence on April 13, which Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside, has been framed as an attempted political assassination, and the alleged attacker seemingly targeted Shapiro due to “perceived injustices toward the people of Palestine.” While there were no injuries, the building suffered significant damage.

On President Donald Trump’s first day back in office he issued a series of executive orders, with one of them pardoning 1,500 Americans that stormed the U.S. Capitol, including a number of violent offenders.

On Dec. 4, 2024, 50-year-old UHC CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan, which seemed to be a targeted attack. He was taken to the nearby Mount Sinai West Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The killing began a manhunt which culminated in the arrest of Luigi Mangione on Dec. 9.

The Department of Homeland Security under former President Joe Biden sent out bulletins warning of violence at polling places, destruction of ballot drop boxes and physical violence at voter registration sites and campaign events as the 2024 presidential campaign was in full swing.

After surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, then-candidate Donald Trump was the target of an alleged “attempted assassination” in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sept. 15. Trump was playing golf at the time, when Secret Service agents spotted the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, who was taken into custody during a nearby traffic stop shortly after.