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A warning to be heeded
American Thinker ^ | 19 Sep, 2025 | Bill Ponton

Posted on 09/19/2025 10:08:44 AM PDT by MtnClimber

A warning should have been heeded at the time of Trump’s assassination attempt in Butler: the era of outdoor political events is coming to an end. Like most, I did not fully grasp it at the time. I thought that the assassination attempt on Trump was a fluke. I thought of it as an attempt by some oddball, who by luck, was able to exploit a failing in Trump’s Secret Service detail. I still dismissed as marginal the impact of Democrats portraying their political adversaries as demonic for so many decades. Up until last week, I gave it no weight. I even chalked it up to a lack of inventiveness on their part, but I was wrong. I realize now that it was a deliberate attempt on their part to incite the feeble-minded toward violence.

Conservatives have not returned the favor in kind. Only in the face of hideous trans medical procedures and abortion have they painted their opponents as demonic. More often, they portray their political adversaries as clowns. One side is granting tacit permission to their followers to view their opponents as Hitler, while the other side is messaging that we should pity those fools. The demonic imagery coming from Democrat leadership has incited homicidal tendencies in their following in a way that the clown imagery coming from conservatives has not. Political violence is now an exclusive feature of the Left.

I was also under the false impression that Trump was acting as a lightning rod, drawing all the venomous hatred of the Left. I was wrong on that count. It turns out that it was just a matter of time before some deluded soul on the Left would take a shot at a softer conservative target. Since Charlie’s death, conservative media personality, Ben Shapiro, has admitted

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: leftism
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1 posted on 09/19/2025 10:08:44 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber
The leftists know how to call out their crazies. A good example is the Chuck Schumer speech on the Supreme Court steps: I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price! You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions!
2 posted on 09/19/2025 10:09:06 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber
I thought that the assassination attempt on Trump was a fluke. I thought of it as an attempt by some oddball, who by luck, was able to exploit a failing in Trump’s Secret Service detail.

"Luck" had nothing to do with it.

3 posted on 09/19/2025 10:20:39 AM PDT by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell)
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To: MtnClimber

No one on the right should do outdoor events without continuous drone surveillance and a bulletproof shield.


4 posted on 09/19/2025 10:22:06 AM PDT by bigbob (We are all Charlie Kirk now)
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To: bigbob
No one on the right should do outdoor events without continuous drone surveillance and a bulletproof shield.

And an armed security team

5 posted on 09/19/2025 10:25:32 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: 1Old Pro

IMHO, the guys that I would always see standing behind Charlie Kirk in all of his videos sure looked like ex-special forces guys to me.
They may not have been armed on a college campus, but I suspect they could handle pretty much anyone in hand to hand combat.


6 posted on 09/19/2025 10:31:31 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: MtnClimber
WRONG!

Never let evil win!

Provide better security and punish the criminals!!!

7 posted on 09/19/2025 10:32:42 AM PDT by G Larry (Its RACIST to impose slave wages on LEGAL immigrants and minorities by importing cheap ILLEGAL labor)
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To: bigbob

Nobody should be so crucial to our movement that the crazies can believe that by killing them it will stop the movement.

On again Trump is carrying the load while supporters are staring at their screens and the GOP politicians stand behind podiums emoting worthlessly.

They should be declaring war on the Leftist shock troops and releasing the hounds.

Repeal the Posse Comitatus act and let the chips fall.


8 posted on 09/19/2025 10:36:18 AM PDT by right way right (“May we remain sober over mere men, for God really is our only true hope.)
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To: 1Old Pro

Absolutely. And counter-snipers.

Which begs the question of rules of engagement. I’ve given this some thought and see no viable alternative to “shoot to kill on sight”...

Take the Butler or Orem scenario where you have a sniper in prone position on a rooftop with a scope rifle to his eye. Any warning or attempt to take him alive could easily result in him pulling the trigger and hitting either the target or a bystander.

The first line of defense should be to detect any such threat before the target appears but the only way to neutralize it is to incapacitate the shooter without warning. “The new normal” for public events.


9 posted on 09/19/2025 10:41:19 AM PDT by bigbob (We are all Charlie Kirk now)
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To: MtnClimber

Kind of like no more Presidential Convertibles.


10 posted on 09/19/2025 10:57:39 AM PDT by Macoozie (Roll MAGA, roll!)
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To: G Larry

Not knowing all the details, but I should think an outdoor speaking event would be much chaper & easier to organize than a big indoor event. I had supposed that was the reason they were done.


11 posted on 09/19/2025 11:05:30 AM PDT by oldtech
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To: bigbob
No one on the right should do outdoor events...

That right there is the correct call.

The Democrats have clearly established and openly endorsed assassination of political opponents as an acceptable method for settling conflicts. We are not coming back from that.

Outdoor events cannot be secured. There are too many openings for an assassin. The security forces themselves cannot be trusted, as we have seen in the Butler event and the recent firings of a secret service agent and a serving military officer.

The "rules" have changed. We are all going to hate it when we all play by the same "rules".

12 posted on 09/19/2025 11:05:48 AM PDT by flamberge (Predictions are hard, especially about the future (Yogi Berra))
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To: G Larry
Provide better security and punish the criminals!!!

I do not believe this is an effective strategy. Better security will help but is not sufficient.

Destroying the social and corporate networks that create assassins will be far more effective than simply bolstering security.

Assassins are not criminals; they are fanatics and true believers. They are expendable assets, just like the bullets they may use. The prospect of criminal punishments will not deter them at all. It may deter their handers and sponsors if we can reach them.

13 posted on 09/19/2025 11:16:16 AM PDT by flamberge (Predictions are hard, especially about the future (Yogi Berra))
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To: bigbob

Trump mobile like the Pope


14 posted on 09/19/2025 11:23:05 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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To: MtnClimber
This dovetails nicely with thoughts i have been having today. I am somewhat conflicted. Although I mostly agree with the sentiment, I find myself asking why?

Change my life, my routines and hobbies? A couple of days ago, when the fear was so strong I could taste it, I made a remark about not going to see a new Matt Walsh movie if one came out. I felt it, so I brainfarted it. The instant I hit send I felt like...you know.

Anyway, fast forward, is that really the answer?

I do not think so anymore. For a couple reasons.

The right does not need a radical, immediate, solution. It is inside all of us. We have the foundations. The convictions. The support networks we have spent a lifetime building.

Secondly, we surround them.

I think a critical lesson that we can glean from Charlie's time with us, is that courage has become uncomfortable to the right. Maybe it is time to stop being cowed. Stop letting the lies encountered in our own lives go unchallenged because we might pee a little if someone's eyes widen.

In summary, i reject the call to go fetal. And I will go to the movies. Just not alone.

15 posted on 09/19/2025 11:30:56 AM PDT by Kudsman (Emulate Charlie, not the left.)
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To: Kudsman

I agree. I see the rising threats, but I am not going to change my life...because that is what the left wants. I am just upgrading my personal security because the left will not back off until they experience pain.


16 posted on 09/19/2025 11:41:48 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Ty. I didn’t want to hijack the thread but I was hoping someone else would also remind folks, just go back to our roots. Take care.


17 posted on 09/19/2025 11:45:25 AM PDT by Kudsman (Emulate Charlie, not the left.)
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To: MtnClimber

A warning should have been heeded at the time of Trump’s assassination attempt in Butler: the era of outdoor political events is coming to an end. Like most, I did not fully grasp it at the time. I thought that the assassination attempt on Trump was a fluke.

><

Where rock does this author live under? Butler, PA has all the earmarks of a setup, with lax security and a dysfunctional secret service. And, there is no info on the assassin’s associates, just like I don’t expect more info on the associates of the Utah assassin.


18 posted on 09/19/2025 11:52:03 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (NO rooftop security at the Charlie Kirk assassination event? Did we learn nothing from Butler, PA?)
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To: MtnClimber

So who was in charge of security at this event? Can’t find nothing.


19 posted on 09/19/2025 12:08:03 PM PDT by foundedonpurpose (Praise Hashem, for his restoration of all things! Tyllllllllll)
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To: Kudsman

No, not hijacking the thread at all. Very good post.


20 posted on 09/19/2025 12:08:11 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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