MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The man accused of assassinating a Minnesota lawmaker and attempting to kill another is in custody. He's charged with murdering former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband. The killings, as shocking as they are, are just the latest in a cascade of political violence in this country in recent months and years, including an arson attack at the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in April as his family slept, the assassination attempts against Donald Trump last year and the January 6 mob attacks on the U.S. Capitol. What's driving this? We're going to ask Matt Dallek. He's a professor and historian at George Washington University who studied political violence. Good morning, Professor. Thank you so much for joining us.
MATT DALLEK: Thanks so much for having me.
MARTIN: You know, I said this Minnesota case was shocking, but is it really?
DALLEK: It is shocking, but it's also not surprising. This is just the latest in a string of horrific attacks that go back now the better part of a decade. More than 9,000 threats against members of Congress last year, more than 1,000 serious threats against federal judges. Threats are up against state legislatures. And then, as you mentioned in the opening, one of the largest episodes of mass political violence in decades on January 6 that was sandwiched in between attacks like Charlottesville or the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi. So, you know, I think that this decade may ultimately be remembered in terms of the level of violence as, say, we remember the 1960s.
MARTIN: So it's not just perception, political violence is becoming more common? I hate to use that word. That's not just something that we're - that's a real thing?
DALLEK: Yeah. I think it's become endemic, yeah.
MARTIN: OK, so help us understand why threats and violence are rising. What stands out to you?
DALLEK: Well, there are a lot of factors. One is, I think that there's a general loss of faith and trust in institutions and a kind of roiling anger toward elites, expertise, a real hatred toward government that we have not seen in many decades. I think, obviously, President Trump, his rhetoric and his actions - he's been a victim of political violence, of course. But he's also an accelerant - so his dehumanizing language, calling his opponents scum, saying the greatest threat to the U.S. is internal. But also, his actions - so pardoning, for example, the January 6 rioters, including those who beat police officers.
It sends a message to his supporters that violence in defense of Trump is justified, and in fact, you might even be treated as a hero. Social media fuels a kind of fractured reality. And then, I think, importantly, the way we react to violence - the kind of fractured, really fighting over who's responsible for political violence - is another source of division. So violence, in a way, begets violence. And we can't really agree on a common understanding and kind of come together in a way that provides for some sort of national healing.
MARTIN: So before we let you go, and this is obviously a rich topic - I do hope we'll talk again about this - are there examples where this kind of culture of violence subsides?
DALLEK: Well, violence like this ebbs and flows, and right now, it's flowing. But certainly, after the mid-1970s, over, you know, 15 years, a period of sustained violence subsided. Actions like Bill Clinton, after the Oklahoma City bombing, he went to a deep red state. And I think that there was a genuine moment in the country, a kind of almost universal condemnation of the violence of the bombing of the Oklahoma federal building. So I think leaders and citizens and faith in institutions can help, but it takes a long time.
MARTIN: We have to leave it there for now. That's historian Matt Dallek at George Washington University. He's the author of "Birchers: How The John Birch Society Radicalized The American Right." Thank you so much.
DALLEK: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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