Kaitlyn Hughes | news editor

As a victim of political violence himself, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the recent increase in violent acts are tearing apart the fundamental principles the United States was founded upon.

“Violence in all forms is unacceptable,” Shapiro said. “Political violence is particularly dangerous. Not only does it seek to injure, maim or kill, it seeks to intimidate and terrorize and silence. I’m here today to tell you I will not be deterred in my work.”

Shapiro spoke on Tuesday at the Eradicate Hate Summit held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which was founded after the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, to condemn political violence.

In April, the governor awoke in the middle of the night by a knock on his door. He was informed that an arsonist broke into the Governor’s Residence and set it on fire with a Molotov cocktail. The arsonist made his way through the home with a metal hammer, which he later confessed was going to be used to kill Shapiro.

“I thank God every day we were able to evacuate safely,” Shapiro said. “But understand that doesn’t mean that the attack hasn’t left emotional scars.”

Between the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the assassination of Minnesota Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Shapiro said that political violence has become too common and has no place in the United States.

“What we’re seeing now from the president of the United States and some of his allies is by cherry picking certain violence that is okay and certain violence that is not okay, that is making everyone less safe, and it’s raising the temperatures instead of lowering the temperatures,” Shapiro said in a news conference. “This is a moment where we should be able to stand together in universal condemnation.”

He said to combat these ongoing issues, there needs to be more support directed at younger generations who turn to the internet where violence and hate is glorified.

“It starts with cowardice keystrokes too often,” Shapiro said. “It ends up with a trigger being pulled in our communities.”

Additionally, he said that leaders in the country need to set the tone against violence to help build trust within communities.

“This work does not just fall to others. It falls to each and every one of us.”

During the summit on Monday, Stand For All Pittsburgh, a new group that works to prevent, identify and address bias and hate incidents announced their mission. The group is made up of more than 20 organizations that work toward combating hate.

“The events of the last week are civic injuries that we hope to prevent,” said Prabha Sankaranarayan, CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders International. “We hope coming together as a coalition will help us prevent those kinds of acts because they are preventable.”

Janice Vanderneck, director of Civic Engagement at Casa San Jose, a Pittsburgh-based non-profit that supports the Latino community, said that to work against political violence people need to engage in civil discourse.

“We have to be able to talk about our differences,” she said.

Patrice O’Neill, the founder of Not in Our Town, also said that the hateful culture and toxic atmosphere online is part of the reason violent acts keep occurring in the U.S.

“As individuals, as communities, we have to look out for places where someone is trying to spread hate,” she said.

O’Neill said that it is important for people to have more interactions with one another.

“Take a deep breath and remember this person next to you likes to walk their dog, likes to watch the Steelers,” she said. “We have to get to know each other and we have to work in places where we get to know each other. I don’t think standing against hate is political. There’s nothing political about it. There are people across differences who want to stand against that.”

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu