Editorial: Violence overshadows local, national politics

There was a time when you could walk into any City Hall or legislative office in Central Florida without incident. That's not the case today. Most government offices are locked down tight. Visitors are often asked to provide ID and walk through metal detectors. It's not uncommon to see armed law enforcement standing against the wall at public hearings.

And it's not hard to figure out why. Political violence - often, in the form of threats transmitted by email or social media - is on the rise.

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Of course, a certain levein level of violence has always been embedded in American culture. Presidents and presidential candidates have been assassinated. Neighborhoods have been torched for asserting voting rights or attempting to desegregate schools.

But in recent years, things have gotten much worse. Two incidents stand out: First, the violent attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which saw hundreds of people breaking into government offices and attacking police.

Then, in September, right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during a rally on a college campus.

The way different political factions responded to these two events indicated an unspoken, and chilling, tolerance for aggression. - but only against people on the other side.

On the rise

In an editorial last week, the South Florida Sun Sentinel said the Government Accountability Office reported a 357% increase in a category of criminal infractions known collectively as "domestic terrorism" from 2013 to 2021 - a category that includes political attacks that rise to the level of illegal threats or actual violence. It also included statistics from the Washington, D.C. Capitol Police, logging alarming comments and direct threats against members of Congress, which went from fewer than 4,000 in 2017 to almost 15,000 in 2025. One of the worst involves South Florida Democrat and U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who is Jewish. In 2024, police arrested a convicted felon after finding a cache of weapons in his home, along with a list of targets that included the two-term congressman.

Partisan political attacks are rising sharply: In Minnesota, a prominent Democratic state legislator and her husband were murdered. Almost one year ago, windows at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's official residence were smashed and incendiary devices were thrown in -- while the governor, his wife and their four young children were upstairs celebrating Passover.

Central Florida officials agree threats are increasing. State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, says threats have become so routine that she ofren knows which social-media posts will attract the most vitriol - anything to do with non-Christian faiths and transgender issues will draw nakedly ugly responses and sometimes actual threats. In fact, when contacted Monday about her experience, Eskamani said she'd just received a threat she had yet to report. And she makes a clear distinction between posts that are merely unpleasant or bigoted, and those that threaten violence against herself, her staff or other groups she's working with. At public events like the recent No Kings protests, she's learned to watch for signs of danger - people standing alone who don't seem connected to the crowd, or drones. "They are so cheap and it's so easy to strap something to them," she says of the unmanned, miniature aircraft.

Other local leaders have been targeted as well. In April 2025, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood was at the Daytona Beach International Airport to greet a Washington State man who'd sent death threats against the sheriff and his family, and it wasn't the first time he’d done so. Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan said threats and harassment were partially to blame for the City Council's abandonment of plans to create a homeless shelter near the trendy SoDo neighborhood last year. Right before the 2018 elections, the South Daytona headquarters of the Volusia County Republican Executive Committee were shot out, with police finding at least four bullet holes.

And that doesn't take into account dozens of conflicts between supporters of differing points of view. In January, a woman protesting against immigration enforcement in Orlando was arrested after striking a vehicle used by federal officers.

Not a solution

We'd like to believe that a new law that promises to fight domestic terrorism, signed Monday by Gov. Ron DeSantis, would help stem the tide of hate speech and violent actions. But a close scan of HB 1471 reveals that it actually promotes discrimination targeted at non-majority groups, particularly those associated with Islam or Middle Eastern governments – making it easier to designate those groups as dangerous, even if their speech is deliberately non-antagonizing. It tightens restrictions on student protests and could even take away scholarships from students who vocally support views the state has decided are dangerous. And it would subject Floridians to advanced surveillance and increased encounters with police, often with no notice that they are being targeted due to their beliefs.

There are clearly groups that should be monitored: For example, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s most “Hatewatch” count of groups that espouse political violence includes 11 operating statewide in Florida, and 89 other in-state groups that are more local in scope. But even that count reveals the dangers of casting too broad a net: The SPLC list includes the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel, a self-described ministry that litigates against LGBTQ issues in court, and Moms For Liberty, whiich promotes conservative, non-inclusive policies in schools. While both groups espouse views that many would consider noxious, they have no documented association with the promotion of violence.

What might help? The kind of mature, respectful and often wryly humorous approach taken by leaders like Eskamani, who says she prioritizes safety but doesn't let that stop her speaking out for marginalized populations like transgender youth - taking care to speak with authority and compassion, not derision or disrespect.

"I don't want to model (political aggression) for the next generation," she said Monday. That's the wisest approach.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.

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