(RepublicanView.org) – Last week, an Army vet spoke up on the divide in the US and suggested that the response to radical right-wing activism should mirror that of the post-9/11 era. Paul Rieckhoff told MSNBC that the nation is in a battle for hearts and minds, and millions of Americans are “on the fence” and vulnerable to being swept into far right organizations. He called for programs to reach people to “bring them over” into community organizing, non-profit organizations, and away from far right groups.
Rieckhoff added that US laws need to change to combat “someone like Mike Flynn, who is openly calling for violence.” Fellow guest Mary McCord, a former acting assistant attorney general, said the “challenge” facing them is the First Amendment, which protects the rights of patriots and conservatives to speak their minds.
The discussion was prompted by former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, who claimed many Americans believe the nation is on the verge of civil war. A study in November 2022 by the University of Notre Dame’s Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy, found that almost half of Republicans and a third of Democrats see a widening gulf that could turn violent.
The primary cause of the dire prediction is what conservatives view as the weaponization of federal institutions against them – exemplified in the criminal charges against former President Donald Trump, which many people believe are politically motivated and indicative of a two-tier justice system that targets and disadvantages people on the political right.
“In their quest for power, radical elements within the Democrat Party have abandoned any pretense of fairness, tolerance, and justice,” Navarro said.
The US has grown increasingly divided since January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building. The Department of Justice has continued to investigate and charge individuals for their roles in the incident.
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