Trump Causing Violence to Escalate in the United States

Gary Tulie writes:

Hi Craig,

Given that 3 people have now died in the last few days in clashes between Black Lives Matter protesters and Far Right supporters of President Trump, is it too much to consider that if irresponsible actors on both sides don’t stop pouring fuel in the fire, that there could be a serious escalation to something resembling the Northern Ireland troubles – with paramilitary groups on both sides carrying out tit for tat killings, with bombings and gun battles on the streets of US cities, and both police and national guard coming under sustained organised hit and run attack?

In Northern Ireland, deaths were relatively low at around 3,000 over a 30 year period, but with hugely more legal and illegal guns already on US streets, and organised militias which could easily transform into terrorist paramilitaries, the US situation could possibly escalate quickly presenting huge challenges to law enforcement. 

Article 2 could possibly be quoted by either side as justification for armed militias on the streets, defending the constitutional rights of their respective groups against federal overreach. 

Yes, this is a possibility, though when the BLM people aren’t harassed, there’s little if any violence.  This is why the governor of Wisconsin has insisted that Trump and his people stay out of his state.  I wrote to a friend earlier today, “The governor is saying, ‘Keep your racist, violence-inciting ass out of our state, got it?'”  She responded, “Well, he was somewhat nicer about it, but yes, that’s the message exactly.”

The closer we get to the election and the worse things look for Trump, the more we can expect events that boost his chances, at the expense of ruining what’s left of our country.