Violent political rhetoric has become increasingly common in our polarized society, and all too frequently it's spilling over into actual physical violence. Both pose serious threats to our democracy and civilized society.
Last week's outrageous attack on Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appears to be another of those manifestations. The alleged attacker, David DePape, 42, entered the Pelosi home carrying zip ties and duct tape and demanded to know where Nancy Pelosi was before attacking her husband with a hammer.
DePape had posted memes and conspiracy theories on social media about the 2020 election, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and COVID-19 vaccines, according to authorities. After entering the home, San Francisco police say they saw DePape "violently assault" Paul Pelosi with a hammer before they were able to tackle him.
In a disturbing complaint filed Monday, authorities said DePape told them he intended to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and "break her kneecaps" to show other members of Congress there were consequences for their actions, The Associated Press reported.
More and more, there are individuals who, for whatever reason, feel they must go further and further to signal their displeasure with an elected official or group or stand on an issue. Witness the scaffolding Jan. 6 insurrectionists erected while chanting "Hang Mike Pence," and the repeated threats against election workers across the country.
The attack by DePape has raised concerns about whether lawmakers and their families should have more security when they are under threat. But the real problem is the threats themselves. We must be able to distinguish between freedom of speech and the kind of bullying and intimidating behavior that can pave the way for actual violence.
Closer to home are the increasingly disturbing tactics being waged by some against Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. The mayor has become the target of threats and intimidation that so far, thankfully, have stopped short of physical violence. But Frey told an editorial writer on Monday that individuals have scaled the fire escape in the back of his building to spray paint "Evict Frey" on the brick wall just outside the family's kitchen.
Frey said some had gone so far as to pound on the back door of the building and shout obscenities. He texted photos to an editorial writer of a spray-painted threat elsewhere in Minneapolis that read, "Frey must die." Frey, who is Jewish, said he also gets antisemitic threats from extremists. "It's been absolutely horrible, and it's only been getting worse," he said. On Sunday, protesters set up a homeless encampment in front of Frey's home.
Frey said that much of the most recent intimidation could be traced to "encampment defenders" enraged by his decision to close the impromptu tent cities that have been sprouting up. He defended his policy, which the Star Tribune Editorial Board has supported. He said that police response has been driven partly by assaults on public works employees and rising crime, drug use and human trafficking in the camps.
But policy is almost beside the point here. Whatever the policy disagreement, these are not tactics that a civilized society can long tolerate.
Some elected officials have made matters worse by foolishly playing footsie with violent rhetoric. On a Sunday morning talk show, U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., was asked about a tweet he posted two days before the attack meant for Nancy Pelosi. Emmer tweeted a clip of a video showing himself firing a weapon at a range with a caption that read, "Enjoying exercising my Second Amendment rights... #FireNancyPelosi."
Rather than express remorse for the tweet, Emmer deflected to the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise at a congressional baseball practice. It is disgraceful that even in the face of actual violence, Emmer chose to uphold his "right" to intimidating political speech. As the interviewer pointed out, if Emmer wanted to make a point about firing Pelosi, a pink slip would have been far more pertinent than a gun, which conveys a different — and unmistakable — message.
For the nation's sake, it's time to tone down the rhetoric on the left and the right and to stop the violence before we find that we have created a price for public service that too many good people are unwilling to bear.
