Governor Kathy Hochul convened a meeting with a bipartisan group of elected leaders on September 15 to highlight a shared commitment to standing against political violence and bringing down the temperature on inflammatory rhetoric. The bipartisan group received a briefing from the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services about the correlation of volatile language to an increase in threats of political violence.
“Incidents of political violence in America are not isolated, and here in New York, we are advancing the critical conversation addressing the disturbing rise of these political attacks,” Hochul said. “Today I convened a bipartisan group of leaders to discuss what is truly necessary in this moment: reducing the temperature of inflammatory rhetoric that leads to violence and ensuring our communities are safe and tolerant places for all. We can debate our differences without demeaning each other.”
The state’s commissioner of homeland security and emergency services, Jackie Bray, said, “Condemning the violence is not enough, our leaders must also condemn the dehumanizing, radicalizing rhetoric that leads to violence. Today, we took time to walk through some of the worrying information and data that people in jobs like mine all over the nation use. It is my hope that this will better equip all of our elected officials here in New York, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, so that we can join together to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
The briefing provided detailed information about the current threat environment. The following details and statistics were noted in the briefing:
- Lone offenders and small groups of individuals are motivated by a range of ideologies, socio-political beliefs and personal grievances.
- Lone offenders and small groups of individuals are radicalized online after exposure to large amounts of propaganda, mis-/dis/mal- information (MDM) and narratives that are amplified in both extremist and mainstream places.
- The data shows they are frequently inspired to mobilize to violence by previous attackers and current events and make plans to attack a wide range of targets using easily accessible weapons.
- In the last decade, partisan-motivated terrorist attacks against government targets have increased from representing 0 percent of overall anti-government attacks to more than 50 percent in 2024.
- Recent surveys have found that 26.2 percent of Americans — over 68 million people — believe violence is usually or always justified to advance a political objective.
- In the two days following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, mentions of “Civil War” on X, formerly known as Twitter, jumped from less than 50,000 to more than 200,000.
- In June, Latin American communities and the mainstream political left entered the top ten targeted categories for the first time since August 2022. Their emergence corresponds with a spike in political demonstrations and recent acts of political violence, suggesting support for violence against these groups —and for political violence more broadly — in response to recent events.
The briefing also outlined a number of actions that can be taken by individuals to tone down the rhetoric, including:
- Condemning all acts of political violence regardless of motivation.
- Lowering the temperature by calling for calm and patience.
- Modeling respectful language when speaking about victims.
- Encouraging in healthy and nonviolent ways to express dissent and becoming politically active to promote change.
- Exercising free speech responsibly.
- Avoiding demonizing and dehumanizing any person or group.
- Do not amplify conspiracy theories and unvalidated and unvetted information.
- Do not exaggerate and use rhetoric of existential threats, including references to civil war or equate extremist beliefs with mainstream political parties.
- Avoid assuming motives or unknown information related to an incident without factual information
“Democracy does not work when politics are met with violence,” Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said. “The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a direct attack on our First Amendment and all people, regardless of party affiliation, must realize that our right to free speech is under threat. We must come together to end this violence and never give in to hate or lose our rights to express our views without fear.”
“On behalf of county leaders, I echo the Governor’s call for unity and reconciliation,” New York State Association of Counties President Phil Church said. Political differences are not only healthy — they are essential to the vitality of a strong democracy. These differences, discussed constructively and for the good of all, are what lead us to the compromises that move our nation forward. We must reject violence in every form. Now more than ever, federal, state, and local officials must work together to heal divisions, foster mutual respect, and use our differences as a springboard for progress that benefits all our people.”