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Online searches for queries related to a “Civil War” have soared in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, it has been revealed.
Saturday, the day of the assassination attempt on the Republican nominee, and Sunday, saw major usage spikes on Google on phrases such as “Civil War 2” and “American Civil War,” New York Post reports.
Google Analytics showed that the search term “American Civil War” skyrocketed, hitting a 12-month high on Saturday in the aftermath of the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, shooting at the former president and grazing his ear, causing blood to streak across his face as his Secret Service detail swarmed around him.
The assassination attempt has given birth to a number of conspiracy theories, with some Republican lawmakers and right-wing personalities blaming President Joe Biden for the event, causing tensions to rise between political leanings against urgent calls for calm.
Far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene baselessly alleged that “Democrats wanted this to happen” and have “wanted Trump gone for years and they’re prepared to do anything to make that happen”.
Others are calling out political commentary on Trump from Democrats and the Biden administration after the violent act on Saturday, such as Trump’s newly announced running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, posting on X that Democratic “rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination”.
Another search term to see a rise after the shooting was “Secret Service,” which also reached its highest spike in interest for the past five years on Saturday, the New York Post said.
Other terms also saw increased trends in searches, such as “long distance shooting”, “gun store near me”, and “how do I move to Canada” being boosted to 12-month highs the day after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Along with gun-related searches, following the attempted assassination, the stock prices of guns and ammunition manufacturers also soared.
After the markets opened on Monday – the first time since Saturday’s shooting – shares in major firearm retailers jumped up, some by more than 10 percent.
“The gun industry has perverse incentives,” Dru Stevenson, a professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, told The New York Times in 2022 after a mass shooting, “because sales and their stocks go up when there are events like this”.
Spikes like these are common after high-profile shooting incidents, including mass shootings, as American gun owners often anticipate the introduction of stricter gun laws. Hypothetical crackdowns lead some people to buy more firearms out of fear that their availability will become limited. There is also a concern for personal safety.
“Stocks are going up because people think there is going to be a spike in gun sales, not because they think there will be new restrictions,” Alex Barrio, the director of advocacy for gun violence prevention at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress, told the Times in 2022. “It’s a bet on fear.”
Smith and Wesson jumped by about 11.5 percent to $15.63 per share on Monday, while Sturm Ruger & Company went up by around 7 percent, rising to $44.24 around midday.
Other companies that saw large upticks included Ammo Inc, which had a rise in stock price of around 15 percent, and outdoor sporting goods chain Vista Outdoor Inc. rose by around 1.15 percent.
On Saturday, several gunshots could be heard minutes after Trump began speaking to supporters late on Saturday afternoon at the Butler Farm showground, then Trump grabbed his right ear before ducking to the ground.
Crooks appeared to have been perched on a rooftop with an AR-style rifle, according to law enforcement, and was shot dead at the scene by Secret Service agents returning fire.
Two rallygoers were seriously injured in the spray of bullets, while one spectator Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief, who was attending the rally with his family, was killed after diving in front of his loved ones.
The last attempt on an American president’s life was in 1981, when John Hinckley Jr fired six gunshots at Ronald Reagan, striking him and three others in an attack that sent Reagan to the emergency room with internal bleeding, a punctured lung and a broken rib. White House press secretary James Brady and two other law enforcement agents were wounded. Brady suffered brain damage and was permanently disabled. His death in 2014 was ultimately ruled a homicide.
