In the wake of Luigi Mangione’s assassination of Brian Thompson, many people, especially those on the Left, have adopted an “assassination culture,” calling for the killings of high-profile conservatives like President Trump and Elon Musk. How do we fix this?

From Fox News. A disturbing new report reveals that violent political rhetoric online, including calls for the murder of public figures like President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, is being increasingly normalized, particularly on the left.

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Have you taken your place on the wall?

The report, from Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), found that a growing number of people are willing to justify and even applaud killing in the name of politics and a warped sense of social justice. …

“What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable,” Joel Finkelstein, the lead author of the report, told Fox News Digital. “We are seeing a clear shift – glorification, increased attempts and changing norms – all converging into what we define as ‘assassination culture.’”

The NCRI study traces the cultural shift back to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione in December 2024. What followed, researchers say, was a viral wave of memes that turned Mangione into a folk hero.

According to the study, these memes have sparked copycat behavior targeting other figures associated with wealth and conservative politics. …

A ballot measure in California, darkly named the Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act, is just one real-world outgrowth of this online movement.

NCRI conducted a nationally representative survey of more than 1,200 U.S. adults, weighted to reflect national census demographics. The findings were stark: Some 38% of respondents said it would be at least “somewhat justified” to murder Donald Trump, and 31% said the same about Elon Musk.

When counting only left-leaning respondents, justification for killing Trump rose to 55% and Musk to 48%. …

Finkelstein said that while some level of violent sentiment exists on the right, “What we found was a statistically higher endorsement of political murder on the left, 41% more than among right-leaning participants.”

The report singles out BlueSky, a social media platform favored by progressive users, as a major amplifier of extremist ideation. …

Finkelstein believes the psychological roots of “assassination culture” are a mix of ideological radicalism and feelings of powerlessness, particularly in the aftermath of electoral losses.

“When people feel like they have no say, no future and no leadership offering vision, they become susceptible to radical ideation,” he said. “And that’s when the memes turn into permission structures for real violence.” …

Finkelstein does not believe censorship will end “assassination culture,” but strong leadership just might.

“We are not an anti-free speech organization,” said Finkelstein. “But we know what a threat is. And what’s happening online on platforms like BlueSky represents a significant threat to American democratic values. If leaders on the left explicitly condemn these trends and reassert moral norms, they can dismantle this culture quickly,” he said. …

How are you praying about this “assassination culture?” Share your prayers with us in the comments.

(Excerpt from Fox News. Photo Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)