'Killing neighbors over politics': Expert warns extremism is tearing apart communities

Political extremists have been radicalized to the point that it is causing random acts of violence all over the country as people turn on their neighbors, warned the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Rebecca Kleinfeld in an interview with Salon Monday.

On one hand, Kleinfeld argued, we are seeing less of the sort of organized rioting that grabbed headlines through much of the Trump years, from the neo-Nazi Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — in large part because far-right activists have become paranoid and believe any large gathering within their movement is an FBI false flag.

This happened in August, when Trump surrendered for arrest at the Fulton County Jail, and a rally for Trump at the building was hampered by paranoia among his supporters.

But they haven't abandoned their violence, she continued — they've just directed it at their own communities.

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"We are seeing people kill neighbors over politics or murder business owners who display a pride flag," said Kleinfeld, referencing a recent shooting in Lake Arrowhead, California.

"In other countries, when someone runs a car into a peaceful crowd, it's almost always a rare international terrorist event. In America, that has happened over 150 times since Heather Heyer was killed at the Unite the Right rally. Political violence and credible threats have become small scale, hyperlocal, across the nation, and extremely frequent." Moreover, she added, this violence isn't just against Democrats, but against "traditional" Republicans in a power struggle for control of the GOP itself.

While this is prominent among right-wing extremists, noted Kleinfeld, there have been similar cases of left-wing violence as well, mainly in attacks against property, and such incidents have doubled since 2016 — however, she said, this is from a "much lower point."

What's important to understand, Kleinfeld said, is that there have been surges in violence of this type in the past as well, like in the Revolutionary War period and in the 1960s — they tend to coincide with drops in public trust in government and civic institutions. And it boosts not just violence but also general anti-social behavior – she referenced Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and her theater escapades.

"Society and civilization are actually very fragile things — as anti-social behavior gets normalized and people 'let it all hang out', as it were, all forms of violence tend to rise," warned Kleinfeld. "We are probably on the verge of that again, and this MAGA political faction and left-wing illiberalism pushing people towards it will be to blame for the deaths and dystopian cities we are going to have for the next few decades."