The Alliance for Peacebuilding Condemns the Latest Politically Violent Attack in Washington, DC and Calls on All Americans to Rebuild Trust and End Political Violence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2026
CONTACT
Nick Zuroski | nick@allianceforpeacebuilding.org
Washington DC, USA — The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), a network of nearly 300 organizations working to prevent violent conflict and build sustainable peace, including in the U.S., once again condemns politically targeted violence and warns that all Americans must work to solve a serious driver of instability in the U.S.—rapidly declining trust in its government and institutions.
Political violence in the U.S. is unfortunately trending upward, with Democrats and Republicans reporting increasing threats and attacks over the last year, and the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner being the latest notable example. From 2024 to 2025, reported incidents of political violence increased by more than 30 percent, including multiple high-profile assassinations. During this same time period, the U.S. Capitol Police reported a 58 percent rise in threats against members of Congress. These trends also are impacting state and local government officials, with surveys showing that 75 percent of local officials are now less willing to engage in key political activities due to concerns about hostility.
The broader issues of increasing polarization and support for political violence must concern all Americans. Deep mistrust is contributing to this crisis, with only 17 percent of respondents in an early 2026 survey stating they trust the government to do what is right “just about always.” Following the attack on Saturday, with public trust in American institutions at stark lows, conspiracy theories and additional threats flooded social media—once again increasing the likelihood of future political violence and greater instability in the U.S.
However, Americans are resilient, and as we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S., there are steps we can all take—from lawmakers, to government officials, to everyday Americans—to start tackling polarization and declining trust in each other and our government. Join AfP’s Peacebuilding Starts at Home initiative working to reduce and prevent conflict and build resilient communities in the U.S. (both online and offline) so we can all work together to understand what is driving conflict and instability and, more importantly, what you can do to rebuild trust and end political violence.
The Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), named the “number one influencer and change agent” among peacebuilding institutions worldwide, is an award-winning nonprofit and nonpartisan network of almost 300 organizations working in 181 countries to prevent and reduce violent conflict and build sustainable peace. AfP cultivates a network to strengthen and advance the peacebuilding field, enabling peacebuilding organizations to achieve greater impact—tackling issues too large for any one organization to address alone.