Nation on edge: Experts warn of “vicious spiral" in political violence after Kirk killing

(Reuters) -The assassination of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk marks a watershed moment in a surge of U.S. political violence, one that some experts fear will inflame an already-fractured country and inspire more unrest. ”This event is horrifying, alarming, but not necessarily surprising,” said Mike Jensen, a researcher at the University of Maryland, which has tracked such violence in a terrorism database since 1970. Experts in domestic terrorism cite a convergence of factors for increased violence in the U.S.: economic insecurity, anxiety over shifting racial and ethnic demographics, and the increasingly inflammatory tone of political discourse.