US 'used to' school shootings: Gun violence 'inevitably turned to the political arena as well'

Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Eric Lisann, Franco-American Lawyer, Legal Analyst and former US Federal Prosecutor. In this interview, Amid the normalization of political violence over the past few decades in the United States, Mr. Lisann places assassination attempts within a broader socio-legal and rhetorical landscape. From his perspective as a former federal prosecutor, what is most striking is not merely the recurrence of such attacks, but the way they have become embedded in the fabric of political life. He argues that this phenomenon cannot be understood in isolation. It emerges from the convergence of three interrelated dynamics: the normalization of mass violence, the escalation of violent political rhetoric, particularly since Trump began his first run for the White House in 2015, and the structural ease of access to firearms. Together, these forces have not only increased the likelihood of violent acts but have also enabled their politicisation, where violence itself becomes a rhetorical tool to delegitimize dissent and reshape public discourse.