I’m Not Wrong About This!

By Rob C.

Art by Dave Granlund

Political violence in the U.S. is overwhelmingly born on the right. From the assassination of Charlie Kirk to January 6th, right-wing extremists, fueled by hate-filled rhetoric and amplified by conservative media, are the consistent perpetrators. Republican leaders and the President have blamed Democrats and the left without evidence, while history — from the Civil War and Jim Crow to Charlottesville — shows a long lineage of right-wing violence. The echo chamber of online radicalization, amplified by Fox News and other outlets, paints right-wing violence as righteous and left-wing actions as evil, perpetuating a dangerous cycle. Acknowledging this asymmetry is critical if we want to break it.

I’ve gotten some blowback from both the right and the left — some saying I’m being insensitive to the horrible killing of Charlie Kirk, others saying I’m just a “radical left communist.” Neither is true. I’m just going by the facts. You know, those pesky things backed up by evidence.

And the evidence is crystal clear: political violence in America is overwhelmingly born and bred on the right.

The Party of Law, Order or Bombs, Bullets, and Bigotry.

After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Republicans wasted no time pointing fingers — not at the shooter (whose motives remain unclear) but at Democrats, the left, and anyone who dared to criticize Kirk’s extreme politics.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox confidently announced, without a shred of evidence, that the shooter had “leftist ideology.” This despite the shooter’s own family saying they were deeply conservative.

Donald Trump went further, weaponizing the tragedy in the way only he can — by spewing extreme statements and making Kirk’s death about him. He called it a “dark moment for America” but then quickly pivoted to blame “the radical left” for Kirk’s death. He ranted that liberals compared Kirk to “Nazis and the world’s worst criminals” and promised to “beat the hell out of radical left lunatics.” He dismissed calls for national unity with a sneer: “I couldn’t care less.”

Other Republicans fell in line. Rep. Nancy Mace declared “Democrats own what happened today.” Rep. Derrick Van Orden said the media and the left were “responsible for this assassination.” Kari Lake, never missing an opportunity to stoke culture war, blamed “leftist indoctrination” at universities.

Notice the pattern: tragedy happens, facts aren’t in, but the right’s propaganda machine immediately goes into overdrive, pointing fingers leftward.

Meanwhile, it’s no secret that Kirk himself helped pour gasoline on the fire. His hateful rhetoric — from demonizing immigrants, to mocking women, to legitimizing conspiracy theories and violent fantasies — has long helped normalize the very culture of rage that ultimately consumed him.

History Just Keeps Repeating Itself – Like an AR15

This is not new. The American right has always been fertile ground for hate-fueled violence. — it is stitched into the American story.

From the Civil War, the Confederacy was literally an armed rebellion against the United States, fighting to preserve slavery. When they lost, one of their sympathizers murdered President Abraham Lincoln. when Confederates started a war to preserve slavery, to the Jim Crow South, where white supremacists lynched Black Americans and bombed churches like the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, terror has long been the right’s weapon of choice. Abraham Lincoln himself was assassinated by a pro-slavery sympathizer determined to halt Reconstruction.

The Civil Rights era brought more assassinations — Lynchings, assassinations, bombings, and mob violence were the tools of white supremacy. Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham — all perpetrated by men steeped in white supremacist ideology. This is not ancient history; it is the foundation of today’s violence.

And the Abortion clinic violence — decades of bombings, arsons, and murders of doctors like George Tiller and John Britton, carried out by anti-abortion zealots.

Violence: Now With Extra Freedom™

If you think the threat is past, think again. In just the past few years, we’ve seen:

The “Unite the Right” rally (2017) — tiki torches, Nazi flags, and the murder of Heather Heyer. Trump’s response? “Fine people on both sides.” - From “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, with Nazi flags, tiki torches, and the murder of Heather Heyer, to January 6th when Trump’s mob stormed the Capitol with gallows and Confederate flags.

Pipe bombs (2018) — mailed to Democratic lawmakers, CNN, and critics of Trump by a Trump supporter obsessed with right-wing conspiracy theories. The brutal hammer attack on Paul Pelosi - the assailant’s goal was to kidnap and brutalize Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The murder of two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota - killed by a far-right extremist.

The Jan. 6th insurrection (2021), the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol, fueled by Trump’s lies, leaving five people dead and hundreds injured.

For decades, abortion providers and clinics have been targets of intimidation, fire bombings, and assassinations — all fueled by right-wing religious fervor dressed up as “pro-life.”

Over and over, right-wing violence is aimed squarely at silencing political opponents. The perpetrators are not “lone wolves” — they are steeped in an ideology nurtured and legitimized by right-wing politics and media.

Triggering America, Literally

And what happens when the violence comes from the right? Instead of condemnation, we get glorification. The echo chamber begins online — forums like Gab, Telegram, Discord, right-wing influencers, and podcasts — and funnels upward until it reaches the megaphone of Fox News. There, violence from the right is rebranded as righteous, heroic, or simply “self-defense.” Meanwhile, violence from the left — rare as it is — is painted as proof that Democrats are evil, godless, and trying to “destroy America.”

Yes, left-wing violence exists — but it is far rarer, far less organized, and nowhere near as lethal. The truth is that the violence is asymmetrical, and the “both sides” narrative is a dangerous lie.

The result? A steady diet of propaganda that portrays hate as patriotism, violence as freedom, and authoritarianism as “law and order.”

The Right Kind of Violence

I’m not wrong about this (You’re Just in Denial). History isn’t on their side. From the Confederacy to Jim Crow, from the Klan to Charlottesville, from January 6th to the killing of Charlie Kirk, the American right has been the breeding ground for hate and violence.

And now, in 2025, we are watching that same pattern repeat — Republican politicians rushing to blame Democrats without evidence, while ignoring the mountain of right-wing violence staring us in the face.

And until we stop pretending otherwise — until we stop letting Fox News and Republican leaders spin murder and terror into campaign fodder — the cycle will continue.

Because if history shows us anything, it’s that right-wing violence doesn’t just erupt spontaneously. It’s cultivated. It’s excused. And it’s rewarded.