The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating “numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees.” The incidents, which so far appear to be hoaxes, serve as a reminder that political violence and illegal intimidation tactics are still not far from the American political system.

“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, un-American threats to their lives and those who live with them,” declared Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

So far, the list of those targeted include:

• Pam Bondi, nominee for attorney general;
• Pete Hegseth, nominee for Secretary of Defense;
• Howard Lutnick, nominee for Secretary of Commerce;
• Brooke Rollins, nominee for Secretary of Agriculture;
• Lee Zeldin, nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
• Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations;
• John Ratcliffe, nominee for director of the Central Intelligence Agency;
• Susie Wiles, President Trump’s incoming chief-of-staff;
• Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrawn nominee for attorney general.

The 2024 election cycle had already sustained the highest level of political violence in 60 years, after President-elect Donald Trump survived one assassination attempt in July and another in September.

The 2024 campaign season also took place while campus radicals launched anti-Semitic, sometimes violent demonstrations in support of a foreign terrorist organization’s war against a close ally. In a pre-election poll, a majority of Americans expected post-election violence, regardless of who won.

Four weeks ago, someone directly attacked the American democratic process by destroying ballots in a drop box with “an incendiary device.”

Fortunately, the expected post-election violence never materialized, likely due to Trump’s decisive victory.

However, this did not change the fact that a growing number of Americans are comfortable with political violence, which is only stoked by incendiary political rhetoric and our acrimonious, heavily siloed media ecosystems. A preponderance of evidence demonstrates that, given the right circumstances, some Americans can be motivated to shoot at political candidates, call in bomb threats, or press through police barricades. These incidents have become so commonplace that a majority of Americans expect it, inevitably including people who are not even all that tuned into politics.

At the very least, this is unhealthy for America’s constitutional system. On the one hand, it weakens public trust in and support for our electoral system, with its regular, peaceful transfer of power. On the other hand, when our system fails to deliver safety and security, it presents an opportunity for an anti-democratic demagogue to rise to power by unconstitutional means. This is how democracies fall, and this is why preserving our constitutional institutions requires constant vigilance.

America’s geopolitical adversaries are aware of these dynamics, and they understand that the best way for them to weaken our nation is by striking at the constitutional institutions that set us apart.

Thus, while American soil may grow its own share of anti-American extremists — especially when nourished by the toxic fertilizer of anti-American indoctrination distributed from many universities — there is an additional danger that Americans will be manipulated into attacking their homeland by foreign actors — which ISISproved was possible nearly 10 years ago.

Then again, there is also the possibility that agents of foreign governments have secretly infiltrated our country with plans to sow division by stoking political violence.

That covers at least four different reasons why someone might call in bomb threats against Trump nominees: partisanship, anarchist-style extremism, foreign-influenced Americans, and foreign actors. It’s too early to say which sort of malign actor is responsible for the latest coordinated intimidation campaign against Trump.

Suffice it to say, there are numerous threats to the American system of constitutional power, derived from the people at regular intervals. Whether it breaks out into actual violence, or merely intimidating threats of violence, it only serves to degrade the entire system.

Hopefully, the FBI is able to find the perpetrators of these recent hoaxes and bring them to justice. Hopefully, those threatened with violence will not let it dissuade them from embarking upon a new course away from public service. Hopefully, the American people unite against these threats and seek the peace and prosperity of our entire nation.

For now, it seems, the slate of nominees Trump selected is standing strong. “With President Trump as our example,” pledged Leavitt, “dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us.”