County leaders from the Hudson Valley were among those supporting a meeting called by Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Red Room at the State Capitol building in Albany on Sept. 15 dealing with political violence and possible ways to tone down the level of inflammatory rhetoric. The bipartisan group received a briefing from the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services about the correlation of volatile language to an increase in threats of political violence.
The briefing noted that lone offenders and small groups of individuals are motivated by a range of ideologies, socio-political beliefs and personal grievances. They often are radicalized after online exposure to propaganda and misinformation. Recent surveys have found that 26.2% of Americans amounting to more than 68 million people believe violence is usually or always justified to advance a political objective. In the two days following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, mentions of “Civil War” on Elon Musk’s online site X, formerly known as Twitter, jumped from less than 50,000 to more than 200,000.
“Incidents of political violence in America are not isolated, and here in New York, we are advancing the critical conversation addressing the disturbing rise of these political attacks,” Hochul said. “We can debate our differences without demeaning each other.”
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said, “In Westchester, we’ve shown that stability, competence and civility to work across differences can deliver real results for the people we serve. We have to get back to a time when we saw more of what we had in common than the differences that divide us, and I’m committed to extending that spirit across the state, turning down the volume, and building a stronger future together.”
Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino said, “Together we can set the tone, leading with kindness and respect, moving our community and our nation forward on common ground issues irrespective of our political or ideological positions.”
Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, “Public servants have a shared responsibility to engage in respectful dialogue. The health of our democracy and public safety depend on it.”
According to Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, “The only way to stop political violence that has plagued our country is to work together as Americans. I am committed to working alongside all my colleagues in elected office.”
New York’s Commissioner of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Jackie Bray explained, “Condemning the violence is not enough, our leaders must also condemn the dehumanizing, radicalizing rhetoric that leads to violence. Today, we took time to walk through some of the worrying information and data that people in jobs like mine all over the nation use. It is my hope that this will better equip all of our elected officials here in New York, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, so that we can join together to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
The briefing outlined a number of actions that can be taken by individuals to tone down the rhetoric. These include: condemning all acts of political violence regardless of motivation; calling for calm and patience; using respectful language when speaking about victims; exercising free speech responsibly; avoiding demonizing and dehumanizing any person or group; avoid assuming motives or unknown information related to an incident without factual information.
