Violent extremists or other individuals “may attempt follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence” in response to the shooting, according to a joint intelligence bulletin from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “The FBI and DHS remain concerned about the potential for follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence following this attack, particularly given that individuals in some online communities have threatened, encouraged, or referenced acts of violence in response to the attempted assassination,” the bulletin stated. The warning came amid what law enforcement officials describe as a heightened threat environment as the Republican National Convention kicked off in Milwaukee. “This attack reinforces our assessment that election-related targets are under a heightened threat of attack or other types of disruptive incidents,” the bulletin said. Just a day before the assassination attempt on Trump, a national survey revealed that 10 percent of respondents believe that the “use of force is justified to prevent Donald Trump from becoming president.” This translates to approximately 26 million people if the survey is representative of the U.S. population. Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago who commissioned the survey, considers this group “active, dangerous,” and with growth potential. Among this group, nine million own guns; six million say police who are violently attacked deserve it; five million have attended a protest in the last year; three million are a militia member or know one; and two million have prior military experience. Overall, the poll indicates that more people support the use of violence against Trump than to restore him to the presidency. “Domestic violent extremists across ideologies are likely to view a wide range of entities directly and indirectly associated with elections as viable targets for violence," and they "could seek to use a range of violent or disruptive tactics against election-related targets," the FBI and DHS wrote in the bulletin. The attack targeting Trump "reinforces our assessment that election-related targets are under a heightened threat of attack or other types of disruptive incidents," the bulletin added.Federal authorities are warning of possible retaliatory attacks in response to last weekend’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
A separate survey released last year shows that 41 percent of Biden voters and 38 percent of Trump voters believe the other side has become so extreme that it is acceptable to use violence to stop them from achieving their goals.
