The young American right-wing activist Kirk was stabbed to death in public; the suspect, Robinson, is only 22 years old. Evidence shows the motive may be political differences. Recently, fatal political violence and shooting incidents have occurred one after another in the United States, with social divisions becoming even more severe.
According to Central News Agency reports, the suspect may be a young white man who despises the far right, while the deceased was a charismatic and influential young right-wing commentator and social media leader. The shooting incident has heightened the tense atmosphere in American society. Both political camps have called for restraint, but on platforms like X and Threads, inflammatory comments and opinions are still visible.
After the January 2021 Capitol riot, political violence in the U.S. has grown increasingly severe. In October 2022, the husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was attacked at home. In July last year, Trump narrowly escaped an incident at a campaign event. In June of this year, a Minnesota state legislator was shot.
Extremists can easily obtain information online about political figures’ activities and plan lone-wolf style terrorist actions, making it hard for police to detect and respond in time.
The United States is deeply divided, and politicians of all parties can become targets of extremists, from the president to cabinet officials, congress members, and now opinion leaders.
With the internet being the primary information source for Generation Z, and with loose gun control in some parts of the U.S., it is becoming more difficult to protect and monitor politicians' public events. The detailed motive for Robinson's crime still requires time to uncover, but American society is already on the verge of a breaking point.