OPINION: BY JOHN HAWKINS

Left-wing radicalism and violence is nothing new. Just as Democrats in the KKK that thought they were justified in lynching black men who supported those awful Republicans or liberal terrorists in the sixties felt justified in murdering or bombing people they disagreed with, there are liberals today that feel justified in using violence against their political adversaries. Whether you’re talking about the KKK, the Black Panthers, the Weathermen, or Antifa, terrorism and political violence have always gone hand-in-hand with the Democratic Party.

There have been literally hundreds of episodes that feature threats, violence or vandalism aimed at conservatives since Trump was elected, but these stuck out either because of how over-the-top they were or because they were aimed at ordinary people whose “crime” was somehow showing support for the current President of the United States.

1) The Congressional Softball Shooting: In June of 2017, diehard Bernie Sanders supporter James Hodgkinson opened fire on Republican members of Congress at a softball practice. Four people were shot, including Republican Congressman Steve Scalise. Capitol Hill police shot and killed Hodgkinson and had they not been there, Rand Paul said, “Nobody would have survived…”

2) The Antifa Assault on Andy Ngo: In June of this year, the gay, Vietnamese editor of Quillette, Andy Ngo, was covering an Antifa rally in Portland, OR. Because Andy has done unfavorable coverage of Antifa before, they hate his guts and multiple members of Antifa assaulted him while the police did nothing. His camera equipment was stolen and he noted he was hit in the head multiple times with fists and weapons. He was also showered with milkshakes, which may be particularly significant since the Portland Police later said that some of the milkshakes appeared to have had quick-drying cement in them. Andy Ngo ended up with a brain hemorrhage and an older man named John Blum had his head gruesomely split open with a crowbar at the same rally.

3) Danish Tourist Mugged at Knifepoint Over MAGA Hat: In NYC, in August of 2018, a Danish tourist bought a MAGA hat as a gift for his father. He was confronted by two white male robbers, one of whom “asked if I knew what it symbolized, and said I couldn’t leave with the hat,”. At first, the tourist struggled with the man, but the robber persisted and after a friend told him the other robber had a knife, he let him take the hat.

4) Man Pulls a Gun on Couple wearing MAGA Hats in Sam’s Club: In February of this year in Tennessee, a couple was walking through Sam’s Club wearing MAGA hats. A man by the name of James Phillips took offense to that and flipped them off. The man he flipped off responded by flipping him off in return. Phillips pulled out a gun, pointed it at them and said, “It’s a good day to die, b****!” to the woman.

5) Antifa’s Bike Lock Professor: Former Diablo Valley College philosophy professor and Antifa member Eric Clanton hit at least seven people at a free speech rally with a bike lock. Three people were seriously injured including one man who was a sneak attack that you can see on this video 17 seconds in.

People could have died and the man in the video above needed 5 staples to fix the wound to his head. Yet and still, in what has become a familiar feature of Antifa violence, the local government closed ranks to help Antifa members get away with their lawbreaking. The professor who attacked all those people? He received only three years of probation.

6) The Chicago Torture Incident: An 18-year-old mentally disabled man in Chicago was kidnapped and tortured. They threatened him with a knife, cut his scalp and made him drink toilet water while screaming things like, “F*** white people!” and “F*** Trump!” on a streaming Facebook Live video. Three of the four participants in the torture received prison sentences.

7) Attempted Murder Against Eric Swalwell’s Republican Opponent: A man by the name of Farad Fazeli attempted to stab Republican congressional candidate Rudy Peters in September of 2018. Peters was campaigning at a fair when Fazeli approached him screaming, “F*** Trump!,” flipped him off, ran at him and threw coffee in his direction. Alarmed, Peters pushed Fazeli to the ground. Fazeli then pulled out a switchblade and screamed: “I’m going to kill you!” The knife malfunctioned and the two of them ended up in a struggle. Fazeli’s family PUBLICLY DEFENDED HIS ACTIONS and said Peters was the bad guy for shoving Fazeli to the ground. Fazeli was charged with suspicion of felony assault, criminal threats, brandishing a weapon and possession of a switchblade knife.

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of BizPac Review.