Expert says rise in political extremism, hate crimes is 'just pulling people apart'

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The country has seen two apparent attempts on former President Donald Trump's life recently and continues to hear hateful rhetoric in the political arena along with threats of political violence.

Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for fueling the fire and putting candidates in the middle of it, and American voters seem to be getting accustomed to this new reality.

Professor Randall Blazak is an expert on political extremism and hate crimes. His group, Cure: PNW, focuses on finding ways to de-escalate political violence — hopefully before it happens.

“We were the recipient of a federal grant two and half years ago to go into community-based ways to de-escalate political violence, and this is in the wake of 2020 when we saw so much political conflict in the city of Portland,” Blazak said.

Blazak recently announced that “building community capacity" is one way to prevent political violence. He said this is about going back to communities to find "elements that bind them together." 

"We've got this tension that's out there, and this tension around specific issues -- sometimes it's around the federal government or LGBTQ rights, or these sort of flash points in communities. We know that we're not as divided as we pretend to be," Blazak said. "We're in this language of good and evil -- 'my side is good and your side is evil' -- but when we get together to build the sort of strength that's already in the community, a lot of that stuff fades away."

It’s become clear that extreme statements in the political arena can lead to real consequences. For example, after Trump and J.D. Vance's statements about Haitian immigrants eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio, the town experienced multiple bomb threats — leading officials to close city hall and schools there.

"There is this really divisive political rhetoric out there that's just toxic. It's just pulling people apart,” Blazak said. “But what we've seen in Springfield, is that community of conservatives and liberals and Democrats and Republicans are kind of coming together and saying, 'Wait, this is our community and we have to live in it.' It starts to block it out."

Meanwhile, Jan. 6, 2021 is still much on the minds of the American public, raising concerns that no matter how the election turns out in November, the country could see that kind of reaction again. And if not at the Capitol, then possibly on the streets of U.S. cities.

“We certainly have this conspiracy theory that the election is going to be stolen, that whoever wins, it's going to be stolen -- especially if one particular candidate loses, it's going to be 'stolen,'” Blazak said. “ We've seen these groups advertise for guns and bullets and also first aid kits for when they do get shot by police, like there's this coming civil war ... We're really trying to get out in front of that and get as many people into communities as possible to kind of help those people move away.”

In the presidential race, both sides say a victory by the opponent would destroy democracy. Blazak said this kind of reaction should be challenged.

“Instead of going down this path that seems very intoxicating and righteous because you're saving something that you believe in, let's find a non-violent way of achieving the thing that we all share in common, which is a stable society” Blazak said.

Watch the complete interview in the video player above.