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Threat of political violence remains high after Kirk killing

22 September 2025 at 19:25

It’s been another violent year in America. There’s been a renewed focus on political violence following the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the attacks on Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota.

Jacob Ware studies terrorism for the Council on Foreign Relations and is the co-author of God, Guns, and Sedition: Far Right Terrorism in America.

In an interview with Detroit Public Radio, Ware says these latest acts of violence have done nothing to quell the potential for more.

“I think a lot of people in the domestic counterterrorism space are worried about what happens the next day, in terms of, ‘how does this escalate? Which extremist movements are watching this moment, looking for an opportunity, and how do we put that back in the bag?'”

Ware says it’s concerning that some of the safeguards to monitor extremism are gone.

Cuts to counterterrorism

“Our counterterrorism infrastructure has been largely eroded, if not destroyed, by the Trump administration, and in particular, DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts in places like the FBI and DHS,” Ware said.

Under the Trump administration, efforts of federal law enforcement have been reassigned to immigration enforcement. Ware says undocumented immigrants are not a threat of political violence or terrorism.

“Undocumented immigrants can be a source of a variety of challenges, including crime, including drugs, but it typically has not had a relationship with with terrorism,” Ware said. “In fact, in a study I conducted last year, I found that the number of terrorist fatalities caused by undocumented immigrants in US history is actually zero.”

Ware believes law enforcement’s focus on immigration enforcement is one factor in a rise in terrorism. Another is a lack of deterrence.

“When President Trump pardoned 1,500 people who committed an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he began to erode that deterrence,” Ware said. “People in America no longer feel like acts of violence perpetrators on behalf of political ideologies are going to be punished.”

The federal government also uses community outreach programs to stop radicalization.

“Prevention is basically federal grants that go to local organizations—grassroots organizations—that work to build resilience against radicalization in their own communities,” Ware said. “That grant making ability has been built up over several administrations, including the first Trump administration… and that work has now largely been been canceled through through the DOGE cuts.”

Response to latest political violence

The Trump Administration has used the killing of Charlie Kirk to blame left-wing groups, even though there’s been no evidence the alleged shooter was aligned with any.

President Trump wants to designate Antifa —the loose collective of left-wing individuals that oppose fascism—as a terrorist organization. Antifa has no leadership structure.

Ware says that’s not the only reason there’s little chance of Trump succeeding.

“It’s important to note that we actually don’t even have domestic terrorism laws, let alone domestic terrorism lists, in this country,” Ware said.

“So in theory, these are really empty threats. There is no way to designate a domestic group as a terrorist organization.

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Detroit Evening Report: Detroit receives 11th consecutive credit rating boost from Moody’s

1 July 2025 at 19:10

The city of Detroit announced on Monday that it has received a credit upgrade from the credit rating agency Moody’s for the 11th year in a row. 

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Detroit’s rating went up one notch from Baa2 to Baa1 with a positive outlook, the city reported. The city’s financial resiliency and its operating performance over time were key reasons behind this year’s upgrade, Moody’s said in a statement.

Moody’s cited key projects underway — such as the new Hudson’s development, the expansion of Henry Ford Hospital’s campus, and the new Water Square development — as positives, adding that the city’s tax base has more than doubled in the past five years. 

The city’s credit rating hit an all-time low at Caa3 — considered “junk bond” status — in June 2013 after declaring bankruptcy.

“This is what happens when elected leaders set aside us-versus-them politics and work together,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement. “Our CFO team, department heads and City Council all have demonstrated tremendous fiscal discipline over the past 11 years to help bring us to where we are today and to lay a strong foundation for years to come.”

Other headlines for Tuesday, July 1, 2025:

  • Residents on Detroit’s east side are speaking out about gun violence after two young people were killed at a city playground near Denby High School on Friday. Police are still investigation the shooting, which claimed the lives of 4-year-old Samir Grubbs and 18-year-old Daviyon Shelmonson-Bey and left another teenager wounded. No suspects are in custody.
  • The Motown Museum has reopened its “Motown Mile” art installation along the Detroit riverfront with a new exhibition honoring the legacy of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards, titled “Keeper of the Dream.”
  • Detroit’s neighbors across the river are celebrating Canada Day on Tuesday, commemorating the country’s “confederation.” Windsor residents celebrated with a parade down Ouelette Avenue late Tuesday morning.
  • Detroit is getting a new WNBA team. The league announced the new team on Monday. Tom and Holly Gores will be the controlling owners of the new franchise, set to play in 2029. Other expansion teams will also be launched in Cleveland and Philadelphia that year. Detroit’s previous WNBA team — the Detroit Shock — played from 1998 until 2009, winning three championships during that time.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

Donate today »

The post Detroit Evening Report: Detroit receives 11th consecutive credit rating boost from Moody’s appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

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