WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews)— Conservative commentator Michael Knowles accused Democrats of downplaying left-wing political violence during a Capitol Hill hearing Tuesday, presenting examples he said are routinely excluded from official tallies.
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Knowles, testifying before a House subcommittee, responded to suggestions that political violence is a “both sides” issue and should not be attributed to one political camp.
“The member suggested we condemn political violence, which surely we must all do,” Knowles said. “But he then suggested we not try to pinpoint exactly which side the violence comes from. This seems to me confusing and misbegotten, as one cannot solve a problem if one does not know where the problem lies.”
The Daily Wire host cited Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who recently claimed three-quarters of U.S. political violence originates from the right and only 4% from the left.
Knowles called the statistic “suspect” and offered counterexamples he said are omitted from datasets.
He referenced the 2023 Covenant School shooting in Nashville, where a transgender-identifying attacker killed three children and three adults at a Christian school. Authorities found no ideological motive, Knowles noted, despite the shooter’s writings outlining political grievances.
Knowles also pointed to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, which he described as “overtly leftist demonstrations” that resulted in dozens of deaths and more than $1 billion in property damage. Those events, he said, do not appear in registries of left-wing political violence.
He further recounted a 2019 Antifa attack targeting him and conservative students at a college event, an incident officially recorded only as “obstructing law enforcement.”
“It turns out the left commits relatively little political violence when you don’t count the political violence that the left commits,” Knowles concluded.
The hearing focused on rising threats against public figures and the role of rhetoric in inciting violence. Democrats on the panel urged bipartisan condemnation without assigning blame to either side.
Knowles’ testimony drew sharp reactions on social media, with supporters praising his “receipts” and critics accusing him of cherry-picking incidents.
No immediate response was available from Moulton’s office.
Good for him! And don’t forget 2 attempts on trumps life and Charlie kirk, and what about all the riots in Chicago, l.a, and new york during covid. Cherry picking my foot