The New Terrorism: Freelance thuggery is now part of American politics.

Once a government becomes a dictatorship, the regime has a full range of repressive instruments at its disposal, including the police, the courts, the military, and domestic intelligence services, among others. All of these institutions act in the name of the state and its leaders, and ordinary citizens resist them at their peril.

But aspiring authoritarians, those who are still trying to cow the public and consolidate their power over other movements in society, sometimes rely on volunteers—thugs willing to do violence while denying any link to politicians. Such people are useful in creating a sense of ongoing threat while the actual leaders they support can pretend to deplore their activities.

Tom Nichols *