Several instances of political violence, many with victims supporting conservative causes, have occurred since President Biden warned of the alleged threat that supporters of former President Trump pose to the country, including attacks on anti-abortion activists and political canvassers and the murder of an 18-year-old in North Dakota.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” President Biden said during a September 1 speech in Philadelphia that earned widespread criticism from conservatives and even some on the left.
“They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country,” Biden said of supporters of the MAGA agenda in his speech.
In the days leading up to the Philadelphia speech, Biden said that MAGA Republicans “embrace political violence” and their “entire philosophy” is “almost like semi-fascism.”
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U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a primetime speech at Independence National Historical Park September 1, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. President Biden spoke on “the continued battle for the Soul of the Nation.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In the weeks following those comments, several instances of political violence have taken place, including an elderly woman in her 80s being shot in Michigan as she canvassed in support of a right-to-life group last week.
Michigan State Police told Fox News Digital Saturday that the elderly woman was shot after a “verbal altercation while she was passing out pamphlets.”
Another violent incident occurred last weekend in Texas when two volunteers on Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s re-election campaign were reportedly assaulted while knocking on doors in a Houston suburb.
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A suspect chased the two volunteers through a neighborhood in Humble, Texas, and ripped off the side-view mirrors of the car they were in while trying to pull them out of their vehicle.
“Political violence is never acceptable. Mark Miner, a spokesperson for Texans for Greg Abbott, said in a statement on Sunday. “With just over a month until Election Day, the passion to win should never bubble over into something more dangerous. There is no place for this in Texas.”
Multiple reports of GOP offices being vandalized have also been reported this month, including the offices of the Larimer County Republican Party in Fort Collins, Colorado, and the Ottawa County Republican Party in Hudsonville, Michigan.
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“(We) came out and found that all of the signs had been hacked to pieces, our building had been vandalized, our permanent sign on the outside of the building had been torn up,” Keith den Hollander, the interim chairman and vice chairman for Ottawa County GOP, said about the vandalism incident over the weekend. “Really disappointed to see this.”
A GOP office in Seminole County Florida was vandalized in graffiti with the phrase “eat s*** fascists” days after Biden called MAGA Republicans “semi-fascists,” WOFL-TV reported.
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Weeks later, a Democratic office in Seminole County was also vandalized with the word “Nazi” written in graffiti.
Last week, WJBK-TV reported that a pregnancy center in Oakland County, Michigan was vandalized with the message “‘If abortion is not safe neither are you” which represents the second time this year the building has been targeted with authorities investigating whether the leftist pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge is linked to the crimes.
Earlier this month, 18-year-old Cayler Ellingson was killed when a 41-year-old allegedly struck him with his vehicle and later told a 911 dispatcher that he believed Ellingson was part of a Republican “extremist” group that was coming after him.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on what he calls the “continued battle for the Soul of the Nation” in front of Independence Hall at Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, U.S., September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Reuters)
“President Biden condemns these attacks and has been clear that violence, threats of violence and vandalism are absolutely unacceptable – regardless of who is committing such acts or why,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital.
Bates continued, “Like he said in Philadelphia, ‘There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None. Ever.’ The President believes that leaders in both parties should uphold that same principle, including when violence and threats are targeted against women seeking health care, members of law enforcement like the Capitol Police and the FBI, or the previous Vice President.”
Conservatives have openly blasted Biden in the wake of Ellingson’s death and suggested his rhetoric in Philadelphia inflamed the political divide in the country.
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“Words can have violent consequences,” Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who was the victim of political violence along with his wife outside the Republican National Convention in 2020, told Fox News Digital in a statement last week. “President Biden needs to realize that his vilification of his opponents is inflaming some of his supporters to violence. As a victim of political violence, both sides need to recognize the consequences of heated rhetoric.”
“Every chance they get, Joe Biden and Democrats divide, duck blame, and show how radical they have become,” RNC spokesperson Emma Vaughn told Fox News Digital. “With Biden as the divider-in-chief, Americans are united in their concern about Democrats’ tax increases, soft-on-crime agenda and the rising prices caused by their reckless spending.”