Threats of Political Violence Grow Heading Into 2022 Midterm Elections

U.S. politics have hit a dangerous point as the country heads to the polls to vote in the 2022 midterm elections, and threats of violence against the public and politicians have grown.

The attack on Nancy Pelosi‘s husband, Republican voter groups dressed in tactical gear in Arizona surveilling and recording early voters, and right-wing politicians and pundits talking on social media and podcasts about challenging a vote that hasn’t happened yet are just a few of the issues happening days before the midterm elections.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the political climate in America has grown more angry and contentious in the last decade. The rise of former President Donald Trump hasn’t helped, as many of the issues can be attributed to his time in office.

Even Trump’s candidacy split families across the country as younger, progressive voters clashed with their older, conservative parents. His opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement and support of the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot has only worsened the political situation.

For Black Americans, there has always been a risk of violence associated with voting. Violence goes as far back as 1871 when Black voting rights advocate Octavius Catto was killed on Election Day in Philadelphia by an Irish Democrat, Frank Kelly, for encouraging voters to vote Republican (who was the party fighting for civil rights at the time). An all-white jury later acquitted Kelly.

The upcoming midterm elections are reported as one of the most unpredictable elections in recent history. There are several close races, including the Pennsylvania Senate battle between John Fetterman (D) and former talk show host and Trump-backed candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams are in a rematch of the 2018 midterms, but the bigger battle in the state is between Sen. Raphael Warnock and former NFL star Herschel Walker. In Florida, Democrat Val Demings is vying for Sen. Marco Rubio‘s seat, and in Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes is putting the heat on Sen. Ron Johnson.