Aside from the two assassination attempts on Trump, the 2024 election season grown seen a bumper crop of politically-motivated assaults, according to Reuters (see story here). A sampling:
- In the pro-Trump town of Hancock, Upper Michigan, Joshua Kemppainen, a 22-year-old unemployed man, went on a rampage. Riding an ATV through town, he deflated tires, ripped off a mirror, and smashed windows of a pickup truck with a Trump sticker; tore up Trump yard signs and threw them into the street; and ran over an 81-year-old man. A couple days later, he shot himself. Relatives said he was autistic, on anti-depressants, and “struggled with mental health issues.”
- In the Trump-majority city of York, Pennsylvania, Robert Trotta, a Trump supporter with a history of harassing random people, charged into a group of people with Harris signs, grabbed a 74-year-old man from behind, threw him to the ground, and repeatedly punched him. Trotta couldn’t make bail and is sitting in jail.
- In Newton, Massachusetts, a collection of villages on the outskirts of Boston, Caleb Gannon, 31, a pro-Palestinian protester, charged a group of Israel supporters, tackled Scott Hayes, 47, a gun enthusiast, and was shot. Both are facing assault charges.
- In Farmington Hills, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, a black female postal carrier delivering mail that included Harris campaign mailers was attacked by a drunken knife-wielding Trump supporter, Russell Valleau, 61, who got a face full of dog spray and was scooped up by police and hauled off to jail.
Political bumper stickers on cars used to be common, but I don’t see them anymore, for what seem like obvious reasons. I’m not seeing very many yard signs, either; in general, people seem more reluctant to publicly express their political views, fearing harassment. That’s the kind of country we live in now.