Survey experiments reveal that the phrase "use of force" is not a euphemism for protest. When probed, 55% of those who support using force to prevent Trump from being president specify they mean assassination, often with rifles.

The number one threat to the United States is not a foreign government or fringe militia, but tens of millions of mainstream Americans who now support political violence. This normalization of violence within the body politic represents a new, more dangerous era.

Mass support for political violence creates a crucial motivator for volatile individuals: social approval. The expectation that their actions will be celebrated by millions nudges them over the edge to commit violent acts, a dynamic amplified by social media.

The common narrative that most political violence comes from the right is based on data starting in the 1990s. Analysis since 2015 shows a new era of 'violent populism' with violence becoming heavily balanced between the left and the right.

Many Americans, particularly in a recent poll of Democrats, support a military coup against a political opponent without realizing such actions historically lead to violent military dictatorships, not a return to democracy, as seen in Myanmar, Egypt, and Chile.

The US is not heading toward a civil war defined by organized armies. Instead, it's experiencing "violent populism," where political violence becomes normalized on both the left and right. This creates a dangerous environment where executive power, such as the use of martial law, expands under the pretext of maintaining order.

The primary problem isn't the small number of violent extremists, but the far larger population that sympathizes with them. This mass support normalizes and encourages violence, creating the environment for it to flourish, as seen in conflicts from Northern Ireland to the US.

When people perceive that their political participation is futile and that corporations can simply lobby their way past regulation, they are more likely to support violence. A sense of political efficacy is a powerful antidote to radicalization.

America's founding principle was to guard against government tyranny. Paradoxically, intense political division has led some to support tyrannical measures, such as a military coup, to remove a leader they fear is a dictator, fundamentally misunderstanding that the solution is worse than the perceived problem.