Experts Warn In Politico to Brace For Political Violence As Deeply Divided U.S. ‘Still Not Prepared For a Far-Right Revolt’

AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File

Politico Magainze on Friday published a deep dive article looking at the latest threats to American civil society and warned of a potential “civil breakdown” as the 2024 presidential primary season heats up.

Senior U.S. counterterrorism officials have raised concern over “the risk of major civil disruption” from the far-right is still a threat to U.S. democracy and authorities aren’t equipped to handle it, noted two writers at Politico, citing a federal threat assessment.

The warning looms large in anticipation of the 2024 presidential election that could pit Donald Trump against Joe Biden once again — a repeat of the 2020 contest that brought about the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, which led to the deaths of at least seven people, according to a bipartisan Senate report.

Writers Steven Simon with the MIT Center for International Studies and Jonathan Stevenson with the International Institute for Strategic Studies say they’ve backed off from warning of possible full-scale civil war, arguing instead, “Now it is starting to look less plausible, given the strength shown by the political center in the 2022 midterms and President Joe Biden’s largely effective tenure in the White House.”

However, the writers say the deep political divide could result in “smaller pockets of armed unrest” that “could easily ignite and spread disorder”:

As the 2024 election approaches, the threat of political violence and civil breakdown is only going to increase. And despite all that U.S. national security and law enforcement officials have learned since Jan. 6, the country is still not prepared for a far-right revolt.

Simon and Stevenson argue the lack of a clear federal strategy for keeping up with domestic terrorists, who are usually lone wolves with grudges against the government, is a remaining problem authorities need to solve.

“No single agency is really in charge, and much of the jurisdictional authority lies with locally elected prosecutors reluctant to step on the toes of those who put them in office. And, unlike the United Kingdom, for example, the United States has no nationwide government agency authorized and equipped to counter radicalization,” concludes the article.

Read the full Politico article by Steve Simon and Jonathan Stevenson here.

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