Rare, because we are far too tolerant of existential threats to the Constitution. We should be far harsher in dealing with anarchists and communists.
The day is coming.
Used to be only property owners and men could vote. It kept frivolous, self-centered and ignorant people from affecting our politics. The idea being that if a person was not responsible and wise they would not own property or hold it for long.
A. Mitchell Palmer served as U.S. Attorney General from March 5, 1919, to May 28, 1921, under President Woodrow Wilson.
Palmer was no-nonsense. He was targeted twice during a wave of anarchist bombings in 1919 amid the First Red Scare. April 1919 Mail Bomb Plot and a June 1919 bombing at his home. An anarchist attempted to bomb Palmer’s Washington, D.C., townhouse. The bomb exploded prematurely, killing the anarchist Valdinoci on the front steps.
These attacks, part of a broader series of bombings targeting officials in eight U.S. cities, fueled public panic and Palmer’s belief in a coordinated Bolshevik or anarchist conspiracy to overthrow the government. No perpetrators were convicted due to lack of evidence, but the incidents justified Palmer’s aggressive response.
The Palmer Raids were a series of mass arrests and deportations conducted by DOJ under Palmer’s leadership November 1919 to January 1920. The raids targeted suspected radicals, particularly anarchists, communists, and leftist immigrants. They were a response to the Red Scare, labor unrest, and the 1919 bombings, with Palmer aiming to suppress perceived threats to national security and bolster his political ambitions for the 1920 Democratic presidential nomination.
We were a lot more serious about stopping communist radicals and preserving the Republic 100 years ago.