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On September 11, police arrested Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, as a suspect in the shooting. In the wake of Kirk’s death, Utah Governor Spencer Cox asked young Americans to reject violence. “You are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage; it feels like rage is the only option,” Cox stated.
According to analysis from the University of Maryland’s Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), there was an 85.5% increase in terrorist attacks within the United States during the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period last year. START has been compiling a database of terrorism and targeted violence, including political violence, since January 2023.
Both databases define terrorism as “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a nonstate actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation.” Their analysis found that about one-third of the terrorist events targeted government facilities and personnel. The 2025 terrorist plots and attacks emanated from across the political spectrum.
Some examples include:
– A Texas resident affiliated with ISIS drove a truck with bombs into a crowd in New Orleans on January 1, killing 15 people.
– In March, a 17-year-old threw lit fireworks at Glendale, Arizona, police officers during an immigration protest, causing injuries to 22 officers.
– An Egyptian immigrant threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd of protestors in Boulder, Colorado, injuring 15, one of whom died from their injuries.
The Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio, and Marist Poll found that 20% of Americans thought violence might solve U.S. divisions. YouGov polled 2,623 U.S. adults on September 10 and asked if citizens ever justified resorting to violence for political goals. The poll also investigated how big a problem political violence is in the U.S.
Cox, a long-time champion of civility and opponent of political polarization, called for rejection of violence. In contrast, some left-wing posters on social media reacted with shock to Kirk’s death, while others on the right accused the left of being “at war with us.”
This coverage highlights the growing concern over political violence in the U.S.
