The issue of political violence has emerged as a prominent topic at the University of St. Thomas this fall.
Experts show that political violence is on the rise. Terrorism incident researcher Michael Jensen showed on LinkedIn that through the first half of 2025, 35% of all terrorism and targeted violence incidents were directed at government officials. This has more than doubled since 14% in the first half of 2024.
Members of the St. Thomas community expressed concern over this trend.
“I don’t want people to die for expressing their opinions, and I don’t want anybody on the left or the right to be censored. I’m concerned about that and whatever follows,” junior Ben Johnson said.
Johnson is a member of BridgeUSA, an organization focused on decreasing the political divide among college students that has a chapter on St. Thomas’ campus. In Bridge, students from varying sides of the political spectrum can discuss political issues and express their opinions safely and civilly.
One of the issues previously discussed in Bridge was increasing political violence in the U.S.
The most prominent recent instances of this violence have been the murders of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman on June 14 and conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10.
In 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords was shot in the head at a local event in Tucson, Arizona. Recent events like the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and the two assassination attempts against Donald Trump in 2024 are further examples of this uptick in political violence.
Michael Klein, Justice and Society Studies chair, specializes in American culture and difference. Klein said the Minnesota community has felt the impact of political violence in the form of Melissa Hortman’s death.
“Violence always feels distant until it’s not. We pay attention differently. We’re activated or motivated to do something about it, and we worry that there may not be much to do — that we might be powerless,” Klein said.
Klein said that political violence can have two definitions. The first is when someone is attacked for being an elected official or having a major role in politics, and the second is a broader definition that describes violence that occurs due to political issues like foreign or domestic policy.
“Usually we see violence when people don’t see themselves represented in politics, don’t feel like they have a voice or see no alternative to violence,” Klein said.
St. Thomas students have been taking measures to deescalate political tensions on campus.
Senior Seth Borne is the president of the St. Thomas BridgeUSA chapter..
“Gone are the days when we have people in power who have differences with their opponents, but are still able to acknowledge that they’re good people. We’ve devolved to a form of (politics) where attacking the other is sort of seen as the norm,” Borne said.
Borne emphasized the importance of talking about difficult issues.
“The day Charlie Kirk was shot, we had our opening event about two hours afterwards. So it was a tough, intense situation. We didn’t necessarily talk about him. I made the call that next week, we were talking about political violence. It was needed,” Borne said.
Political violence is “everyone’s issue,” according to Klein, and working to prevent it will be a large decision that everyone must be willing to commit to, Klein said.
“College students are often talked about as the hope of the future and the leaders of tomorrow, but that robs you of the power you have right now. You are leaders of today, you have power today to make change,” Klein said.
On the other hand, Borne said that it can be difficult for college students to access that power.
“We haven’t necessarily been given those positions and those abilities by older generations, and so I think we’re hesitant to take those roles of power. But, we do need to learn how to do it because eventually we’ll be the stewards of this country,” Borne said.
Borne said that there are ways citizens can change their behavior to help prevent political violence.
“When you disagree with someone, it’s OK to disagree, but it’s not OK to attack them as a person because of that. I think one of our big values (at Bridge) is to disagree with the statement, not the person,” Borne said.
In addition to highlighting the need to understand others’ points of view, Klein said that it is important to participate directly in politics.
“You can get involved in politics, even if that seems maybe distancing or something you don’t want to step into. You may not ‘do’ politics, but politics is doing you,” Klein said.
Looking to the future, Borne said he believes that the United States can withstand this period of political violence.
“I’m hopeful in America. I think we’ve been through tough times; I think we’re in a tough time, but I really do truly believe in this country, and I think we’re going to do great things,” Borne said.
Lucy Troester can be reached at troe4853@stthomas.edu.
