Political violence has been on the rise. Especially against conservatives.
And now a U.S. Senator’s life is under attack and the FBI was forced to get involved.
America’s leaders are under siege, facing an alarming rise in violent threats and attacks from radical leftists emboldened by a toxic political climate. From assassination attempts on President Donald Trump to the latest chilling death threat against Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, the evidence is clear: conservatives are being targeted at an unprecedented rate, and the left’s rhetoric is fanning the flames.
A 22-year-old woman named Penelope Convertino left a vile voicemail at Senator Blackburn’s Nashville office, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. In the message, Convertino allegedly declared: “My name is motherf*cker and I’m gonna k*ll Marsha Blackburn. I’m gonna shoot her with a gun. I’m gonna blow up her head on national TV. She will literally have brains splattered behind her because she will not be a person. She will be a dead f*cking body.” The FBI arrested Convertino on Thursday, and if convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Senator Blackburn, a steadfast conservative who has served Tennessee in the U.S. Senate since January 2019 and recently announced her candidacy for governor, responded with resolve: “Threats against the life of any public official are unacceptable and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. I am grateful to law enforcement and federal prosecutors in the Middle District of Tennessee for taking this threat seriously and for their swift action. My focus remains on serving the people of Tennessee, and I will not be intimidated or deterred by those who seek to silence me.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire echoed this sentiment, stating, “Our public officials should be able to do their jobs without receiving vile death threats. Threatening public officials with deadly violence cannot and will not be tolerated. We will not hesitate to hold those who make these kinds of violent threats accountable for their crimes.”
This shocking incident is just one in a growing wave of hostility aimed at conservatives. In July 2024, former President Donald Trump narrowly escaped death when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear, k*lling one supporter and wounding two others before Secret Service agents neutralized the shooter.
Just two months later, on September 15, 2024, another attempt on Trump’s life unfolded at his West Palm Beach golf club, where Ryan Wesley Routh was apprehended with a rifle, a GoPro camera, and backpacks, suggesting a calculated plot to k*ll the former president (at the time). These brazen attacks highlight a dangerous trend that cannot be ignored.
The data backs this up. Reuters reported at least 300 cases of political violence since the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, with 51 incidents in 2024 alone, marking the most sustained increase since the 1970s. The Capitol Police investigated 9,474 threats against federal lawmakers in 2024, up from 8,008 the previous year. Conservatives, in particular, are in the crosshairs.
Other conservative figures have faced similar threats. In 2023, a man was arrested with weapons outside Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home, fueled by leftist outrage over the Roe v. Wade decision. That same year, an armed Ohio man, previously involved in the January 6 events, was k*lled after attempting to breach an FBI office following the Mar-a-Lago search.
In April 2025, an arsonist set fire to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s mansion while his family was inside, and in March 2025, the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters was damaged in a suspected arson attack with graffiti reading “ICE=KKK.”
Experts point to the left’s inflammatory rhetoric as a driving force. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have repeatedly labeled Trump a “threat to democracy,” a narrative that some argue incites violence. While Biden condemned the assassination attempts on Trump, the left’s refusal to tone down their attacks on conservative leaders continues to stoke division. As Jacob Ware, a terrorism researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations, warned, “You’re seeing acts of violence from all different ideologies. It feels more random and chaotic and more frequent.”
Ordinary conservatives are also at risk. In northern Michigan, an 81-year-old man was injured by an assailant who ran him over with an ATV for putting up a Trump yard sign. In York, Pennsylvania, a 74-year-old man was punched in the head while rallying for Harris, but the attacker’s rage was rooted in political hatred. These incidents show how the left’s demonization of conservatives is trickling down to the streets.
The left’s hypocrisy is glaring. While they clutch pearls over “divisive rhetoric,” their leaders—like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who warned that the Supreme Court would “pay the price” for overturning Roe v. Wade—have fueled the very violence they claim to oppose. Meanwhile, conservatives like Senator Blackburn remain unbowed, standing firm for their values despite the threats.
