Several credible institutions track and analyze political violence in the United States—including violent attacks on figures like Paul Pelosi, Wisconsin lawmakers, and Charlie Kirk—with key data highlighting a sharp recent rise, victims, and perpetrators by political affiliation.
The balance of victimization and perpetration by political alignment depends on the kind of violence and the source, but most deadly recent attacks have been linked to the far right, though acts occur across the spectrum. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
In summary, ACLED, CPOST, the Bridging Divides Initiative, and the Prosecution Project are leading sources for U.S. political violence data.
Most fatalities are linked to far-right perpetrators, but political violence, threats, and intimidation affect all sides and a range of roles—from lawmakers to campaign aides and activists. [1][2][7][5][9]
Major credible news agencies and political violence researchers have compiled lists of significant attacks and incidents from the current U.S. cycle (2021–2025), showing a sharp increase in deadly and high-profile events across the political spectrum.
Below is a sourced summary of the most notable recent incidents:[1][2][3][4][5]
These events represent only the highest-profile cases; credible institutions report hundreds of incidents each year involving threats, assaults, and lower-level attacks on political figures, activists, and public officials. [5][2][3][4]
Political scientists and researchers agree that the rise in U.S. political violence is driven by a combination of deep polarization, mistrust, disinformation, grievances about democracy, and “ungrouped” lone actors fueled by extreme rhetoric —rather than tightly organized groups or a single ideology[1][2][3][4][5][6].