During Donald Trump’s inaugural term, we witnessed comediennes parading with mock representations of his severed head. Fast forward to his second term, and we now have an alarming reality where actual violence against prominent conservatives is making headlines.
In a chilling development, conservative figure Charlie Kirk has met an untimely demise. More startling, it was recently revealed that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh nearly fell victim to an assassination attempt by an individual who harbored aspirations to eliminate multiple conservative justices. Such actions reflect a troubling trend as a significant segment of the progressive movement increasingly endorses violence as a political strategy. In New York City, the imminent election of a mayor who trivializes the phrase “globalize the intifada” poses further questions about the growing tolerance for violent rhetoric.
Adding to the distressing pattern, Loudoun County, Virginia, has seen yet another alarming incident, where a progressive activist allegedly issued a death threat to Republican state lawmaker after he denounced a racially charged sign directed at GOP gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears.
A report from WJLA states that Patrick Murphy has been charged with a felony for sending a threatening message to Republican Delegate Geary Higgins, who stands as the sole Republican officeholder in Loudoun County.
This is Patrick Murphy’s booking photo. pic.twitter.com/6JR3Yon9rW
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) September 29, 2025
The growing leftward shift in his region has placed Higgins in a fiercely contested race, with opponents attempting to entwine him with events of January 6 and notions of ‘big data’, as noted by Fox News. According to Higgins’ office, the catalyst behind the death threat was an advertisement he released condemning a now-infamous sign that was used against Earle-Sears during her remarks at a school board meeting, particularly around the contentious issue of transgender bathroom policies.
“Hey Winsome, if trans can’t share your bathroom, then blacks can’t share my water fountain,” read the sign—a starkly racist assertion directed at Earle-Sears, who is Black.
The threat from Murphy was notably blunt: “F*** off Geary. I will shoot u @ yer next public rally. Then send you memes with the photos. I know where your f***in kids are too.”
While news of this incident took time to surface, Loudoun Now reported that Murphy was apprehended on September 2 and released on a $2,500 bond. He has agreed to refrain from contacting Higgins or his family—a commitment that many would view with skepticism, given the robustness of such promises in today’s digital landscape.
“Let me be unequivocal: Threats of violence have no place in our political dialogue. I will not be intimidated, silenced, or deterred from serving my constituents in Western Loudoun and Fauquier, and I will advocate for rational discourse,” Higgins asserted, linking the threat to the incendiary rhetoric propagated by both his opponent and the Democratic ticket, which includes gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
“Spanberger instructs her supporters to ‘let their rage fuel them,’ while my opponent appears in commercials labeling me a crook and a traitor, blatantly misrepresenting my record,” Higgins added.
“Recent sessions in Richmond have seen us labeled by every derogatory term imaginable. It should come as no surprise that ceaselessly casting our political adversaries as ‘Nazis’ may ultimately precipitate violent outcomes,” he concluded.
Yet this issue extends far beyond Richmond. Across the United States, we are witnessing a troubling rise in incendiary language—though it seems that this particular sort of rhetoric is predominantly emanating from a specific ideological group.
For instance, let’s recall when Kathy Griffin posed with a likeness of Trump’s decapitated head, dismissing it as mere humor.
Today in 2017, comedienne Kathy Griffin was fired from CNN after photo of her holding bloody head resembling Donald Trump by Tyler Shields was revealed. pic.twitter.com/EBy278gtyg
— Howard Prince (@Howodd69) May 31, 2025
The punchline seems to be lost on Donald and Melania Trump, Erika Kirk, and certainly, Geary Higgins wouldn’t find much humor here either.
This reminder of the political landscape serves to illustrate a fundamental divide, one that will likely persist: we did not create the turbulent environment that appears to be emerging. The responsibility lies with those whose actions have stoked the flames of discord. Real healing requires an acceptance of accountability from those who have sown this chaos.
This article was originally published in The Western Journal.
