'This is the era of violent populism': After Charlie Kirk assassination, political violence expert explains why incidents could worsen

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Charlie Kirk’s murder is the latest of several high profile acts or threats of political violence.

Some of them have happened right here in Wisconsin.

One of the country's foremost experts on political violence said as tragic as it is, Kirk's assassination was not unexpected based on a years-long spike in incidents. And he cautions it could continue.

Dr. Robert Pape is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago. He told us, "This is the era of violent populism."

Pape says political violence has become a shockingly regular feature of American political life.

The number of incidents his research team tracks has jumped five times every single year since 2017.

Pape said, "You would have to go back to the 1960s to find a surge of political violence like we have been experiencing."

It's happening on both sides of the political aisle, against political figures at all levels of government.

In June of 2022, retired Juneau County Judge John Roemer was shot and killed in his home.

In April of this year, a man left threatening flyers at Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan's home.

Then in June of 2025, a man shot and killed the Minnesota House Speaker and her husband in their homes, and shot and injured a state senator and his wife.

At the Wednesday launch event for his gubernatorial campaign, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley led a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk after saying “We don’t have to agree, but we have to reject every form of hate and violence in our country.”

Kirk came to Wisconsin several times, most recently during the spring state supreme court race. He also spoke on night one of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Pape said violence like Kirk's murder was, sadly, predictable.

In a June op ed in the New York Times, he warned of an extremely violent era of American politics.

He said social change -the transition from a white majority democracy to a white minority democracy- is fueling it.

"What you are seeing is this is then playing itself out in radicalizing parts of the public that are becoming not just normal, accepting political violence, but actually supporting political violence," Pape said.

He said lawmakers can do a lot more than they are doing to take the temperature down. "Our leaders need to put as much energy into restraining political violence, from their own constituents, as they do for running for office."

To lower the temperature, Dr. Pape said Democrats need to vehemently condemn this act of violence, and Republicans must urge restraint in response.

Much of those reactions were already coming in throughout the day.