Editorial: Attacks against elected officials

Since taking power in January, President Donald Trump and his entourage have escalated the violence of their verbal attacks against anyone who dares to get in their way.

The main target of the campaign of aggression is undocumented immigrants, persecuted, detained in broad daylight in their workplaces, homes, schools, hospitals and temples.

The operations are against anyone who appears to be Latino and several citizens and legal residents have fallen into their networks.

And now, this government exercises violence against the political opposition, including the Democratic Party.

In recent days what we have warned about for a long time has happened. A wave of violence has been unleashed against Democratic elected officials.

The most horrifying case is of course the murder of state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, in a spree of attacks that included seriously wounding state senator John Hoffman and his wife. The alleged murderer is behind bars.

But no less worrying was the attack committed by the authorities against the federal senator for California Alex Padilla, who was present at a press conference held by the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and who, when trying to ask him a question, was pushed outside by federal agents and forcibly handcuffed, even though they knew who he was.

Similarly, Brad Lander, New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate, was assaulted and forcibly handcuffed by masked ICE agents – on Tuesday the 17th – while trying to remove from them a man who had appeared in Immigration Court to continue his legalization process.

Simultaneously, the President ordered – through a tweet on his social media – federal immigration agencies to “expand efforts to detain and deport illegal aliens in the largest cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, where millions upon millions of illegal aliens reside,” and which are, he said, “the core of the Democratic power center.”

Instead of softening his message of hate and violence after the attack against Minnesota legislators, Trump intensified it and openly emphasized its partisan tone, giving encouragement to those who carry out the attacks in his name.

We are walking on a ledge from which it is possible to stumble and fall towards a state of generalized violence especially directed against those who differ with the President.

Let us not forget that this same year there were attempted attacks against Trump himself, an arson attack on the residence of Pennsylvania governor and frequent target of MAGA attacks Josh Shapiro, and the murder of two members of the staff of the Israeli embassy in Washington.

We are facing a cycle of violence that seems to intensify every day. What has happened so far is just a warning to which we must pay close attention. .

And the violence is fueled by the impunity and determination with which ICE agents attack and arrest elected officials. Those who are thus threatened must defend themselves by all legal and peaceful means and rally the support of the public. Finally, as before, it is Congress – with a Republican majority – that should act with sanity and lucidity to restore order but prefers to remain silent and concede.