Gunfire, arson and vandalism: Tracking political violence in America
Assassination attempts, arson attacks and targeted shootings have scarred American politics over the past three years.
President Donald Trump survived two incidents. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was unharmed after a madman lit his house on fire. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson died after a gunman shot him in the back on a Manhattan sidewalk. A sniper killed Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk during a public speaking event. Even state-level officials have been gunned down in their own homes.
Experts warn that political violence and tolerance for it are on the rise, even with the murder rate falling to a 125-year low in 2025. And victims have been on both sides of the political spectrum.
Here’s a recap of events.
Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old Pennsylvanian, opened fire from a rooftop overlooking a campaign rally for President Donald Trump in Butler, a rural area near Pittsburgh.
A bullet grazed Trump’s ear. Two members of the audience survived gunshot wounds and one man, a 50-year-old firefighter and father of two named Corey Comperatore, died.
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“Corey died a hero,” Shapiro told reporters after speaking with Comperatore’s wife Helen. “Corey dove on his family to protect them.”
Authorities have released few details about Crooks and his motive. He died when counter-snipers returned fire.
“As the survivor of two assassination attempts — and recently watching his dear friend Charlie be assassinated — no one understands the dangers of political violence more than President Trump,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital last week. “That’s why, following Charlie’s assassination, President Trump delivered powerful and unifying remarks urging all Americans to ‘commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died. The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God.’”
Police arrested a 58-year-old man after U.S. Secret Service agents spotted a rifle barrel poking through the brush on the edge of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was playing a round.
Jurors found Ryan Wesley Routh, now 59, guilty in September. He has not yet been sentenced but could receive life in prison.
No one was injured during this incident.
Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two from Minnesota, was the CEO of one of the country’s largest health insurers.
A gunman approached him from behind outside a New York City hotel and shot him repeatedly in the back, killing him on the sidewalk.
Suspect Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges in the case. State and federal trials are not expected to begin until late fall 2026 at the earliest.
According to investigators, they allegedly found journals in which he discussed the thought process going into the slaying and criticized the health insurance industry.
Mangione is accused of “meticulously” planning the murder with the motive of igniting a “public discussion about the healthcare industry,” per the Justice Department.
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An arsonist set off a fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s residence while Shapiro and his family were asleep inside.
The attack happened around 2 a.m. on the first night of Passover. The Shapiros are Jewish.
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Cody Balmer, 39, has since pleaded guilty in connection with the fire and received a sentence of 25 to 50 years in prison.
Surveillance video shows he broke a window with a sledgehammer and threw a Molotov cocktail inside. Then he broke in through another window and threw another firebomb into the dining room but failed to break through a door that led to the bedrooms.
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A gunman opened fire outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., killing a young couple — both victims being employees of the Israeli Embassy.
The suspect, a 31-year-old pro-Palestinian agitator and far-left activist from Chicago named Elias Rodriguez, has pleaded not guilty. A trial date has not yet been set.
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Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband were killed in their home in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis.
State Sen. John Hoffman, another Democrat, and his wife were both shot nearby in Champlin. They survived.
A single suspect has been charged with both attacks, 58-year-old Vance Boelter. He pleaded not guilty and is due back in a federal court in Minneapolis on Feb. 20.
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Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, was delivering public remarks at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when a sniper’s bullet pierced his neck.
He died as his security team rushed him to a nearby hospital.
The suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, has pleaded not guilty and is due in court on Feb. 3 for the second day of a hearing on his defense team’s motion to have the prosecutor’s office kicked off the case.
Court documents have revealed text exchanges between Robinson and his trans lover that appear to show an opposition to Kirk’s conservative views motivated the crime.
“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson allegedly wrote.
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U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was allegedly the target of a $10,000 murder-for-hire plot that failed to materialize, according to federal prosecutors.
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Last week, jurors delivered a not guilty verdict for the man accused of orchestrating it, 37-year-old Juan Espinoza Martinez.
Espinoza Martinez, who is not a U.S. citizen, was accused of offering $10,000 for Bovino’s slaying over Snapchat after an ex-con business acquaintance and federal informant shared the post with investigators.
A 26-year-old Ohio man has been accused of vandalizing the Cincinnati home of Vice President JD Vance.
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The suspect, William DeFoor, has a history of vandalism charges and mental illness, according to authorities.
“I appreciate everyone’s well wishes about the attack at our home,” Vance wrote on X. “As far as I can tell, a crazy person tried to break in by hammering the windows.”
His family was in Washington, D.C., at the time, he added.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, Stepheny Price and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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