Is political violence the new norm in America? An ugly alleged assault occurred against New Hampshire Republican Senate nominee Don Bolduc Wednesday after he arrived to debate against Democrat incumbent Sen. Maggie Hassan.
Bolduc reportedly did not sustain any injuries after the incident.
The former Army general who served in the Afghanistan war argued against Hassan on topics ranging from inflation, abortion, the crisis at the southern border, and more in what was their final debate before next week’s election.
Hassan’s campaign communications director Kevin Donohoe commented on the incident, writing online, “Disgusting behavior. We saw this same libertarian party activist get aggressive with our campaign volunteers at this debate and the last.”
Disgusting behavior. We saw this same libertarian party activist get aggressive with our campaign volunteers at this debate and the last. #NHSen #NHPolitics https://t.co/BzaFzpjNsi
— Kevin Donohoe (@kdonohoenh) November 3, 2022
This alleged assault against Bolduc does not mark the first time a Republican politician or candidate was allegedly targeted for their political views.
It was only a few years ago during the Trump presidency when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was tackled by his neighbor in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The alleged assault was quite violent — the Kentucky senator was left hospitalized with six broken ribs.
Perhaps an even more horrific incident that occurred around the same time was when a 66-year-old Bernie Sanders supporter shot up a congressional baseball game practice with the explicitly stated intention of killing Republicans.
“Trump has destroyed our Democracy. It’s Time to destroy Trump & CO,” the self-described “democratic socialist” posted on Facebook shortly before the incident.
Bolduc’s campaign has openly called for the political temperature to be turned down.
“As the general said on stage tonight, it’s time to lower the temperature of the political discourse in this country. Prior to the debate, an individual in the crowd gathered outside attempted to punch the general and was quickly apprehended and arrested,” a Bolduc campaign spokesperson told Boston 25 News.
“We are grateful to the quick response from law enforcement on the scene,” added the spokesperson.
Those interested in viewing the full debate between Bolduc and Hassan can do so at the link below:
