Political violence risingThe understanding of political violence is complicated by differences in definitions and the recent Department of Justice removal of an important government-sponsored study of domestic terrorists. Political violence in the US has risen in recent months and takes forms that go unrecognized. Support for political violence in the U.S. is spreading from extremist fringes into the mainstream, making violent actions seem normal. Unlike foreign terrorism, the federal government does not have a mechanism to formally charge an individual with domestic terrorism. By contrast, US law bars the government from labeling domestic political organizations as terrorist entities because of First Amendment free speech protections.