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Writer's pictureNolan Schmidt

Acts of Political Violence Must End


Originally Published in the Seguin Gazette as "Acts of violence, claims they were staged must end" on July 16, 2024


I will admit that this will be a tough column for me to write due to the recent news that made me very upset, but it has led me to discussions with my closest friends and family who are just as upset about it as I am.


On Saturday, July 13th, a 20-year-old man by the name of Thomas Matthew Crooks took eight shots at former President Trump from a building near where he was holding a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania with a rifle that was legally purchased by his father. One of the shots grazed Trump’s right ear, and the other shots hit several of the attendees, injuring two and killing one.


Crooks was then killed by a sniper from the United States Secret Service Counter Assault Team. Following the assassination attempt, many individuals including President Biden condoned the violence taken upon both Trump and the attendees. They wished Trump and the two injured attendees speedy recoveries, and they gave their condolences to the friends and family of Corey Comperatore, the attendee who was killed while protecting his family from the gunfire.


Before continuing, I would like to wish former President Trump and the two injured attendees for a full recovery, and express my deep condolences to all of Corey Comperatore’s loved ones. Politics should never result in the array of violence like it did on Saturday. It makes me upset just thinking about it since one of the principles I follow is the non-aggression principle.


The non-aggression principle (or the NAP for short) is both a legal and moral rule that supports that everyone can do anything except any form of aggression. As any Libertarian will put it: “Don’t hurt anyone, and don’t take their stuff.” This also fits alongside the Golden Rule itself in Matthew 7:12: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”


After the news broke out, I saw several of my friends and family express their anger and expressed that no matter if you don’t like Trump, it is wrong to do or wish harm on him. No matter if it is the Golden Rule, the non-aggression principle, or even both, those who have expressed their outrage towards the actions of Crooks are staunch followers of these peace guiding rules.


However, there are those who have tried to say that the assassination attempt was staged, which fully enrages me. Doing so is the same as saying that the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy were staged, or that the assassination attempts towards Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Reagan were staged.


When you try to say that the attempt on taking a life or the loss of life was planned ahead as some sort of theatrics, you are no better than the perpetrator! Along with strongly condemning Crooks’ violent actions toward Trump and the attendees of his campaign rally, I also strongly condemn those who are saying that this array of violence and tragedy was staged.


No matter who you are, whether you be a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Independent, we need to condemn any type of violent action taken towards others, either if you agree with them or not. We need to be united against such actions without going into some disgusting and disrespectful conspiracy theory. Cut an end to these pointless divisions, and let us join together in building peace in this country.

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