AZ Political Podcast: Former DHS undersecretary John Cohen on political violence

As we take on the troubling topic of political violence on this edition of the AZ Political Podcast, my guest, a former Homeland Security undersecretary, warns that we could soon see a lot more of it.

What’s truly sad is this: the way politicians react to political violence — especially in how they talk about who’s responsible — could be a driving factor in its rise.

Yes, John Cohen, former undersecretary for intelligence and counterterrorism coordinator at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tackles this topic with me because of the recent incident where an armed man tried to rush into the White House Correspondents Dinner and DHS oversees Secret Service.

But we also do so because John believes there’s a societal stew (made up of generous amounts of foreign-produced online content, hyperbolic politicians, mental health crises and a dash of hate) that’s boiling over in America.

Political violence is more prevalent and because it’s hard sometimes for a madman to get at their intended target, they perpetrate their crime on the nearest crowd or house of worship — leading to the death of people who aren’t political in the least. So how’s that fair?

Before John gives us a little bit of hope (at the end of the podcast), we talk through the sticky wicket of finding potential perpetrators before they become active shooters: the people who have been ripened by hate but haven’t fallen off the tree — or can be caught before they hit the ground.

It puts us all in the position of asking, “would I be willing to turn in a family member/friend/neighbor for a crime I think they may commit?”

Guess what? There are no easy answers. And that’s what makes this a troubling topic — but also one at which we have to keep looking.

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