UC students study political violence in America

Now students at the University of Cincinnati are helping Assistant Professor Michael Loadenthal compile the largest database of its kind on political violence in the United States using records from state courts and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The database has helped journalists put political events into historic and legal context, Loadenthal said. Some cable-television commentators have suggested that state and federal authorities ignored political violence spurred by the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

“When I hear that I want to throw the TV through the wall,” Loadenthal said.

His database shows that more than 1,700 defendants in those protests and riots have been charged with felonies. And that’s just the start of what can be gleaned from the database.

Most Americans no doubt recall the bombing of the USS Cole, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and, of course, the 9/11 terror attacks on Washington and New York by al-Qaida. But the database identifies hundreds of other al-Qaida defendants convicted of unrelated criminal conspiracies and plots to harm Americans over the last 30 years.

The database also identifies defendants connected to hate groups, ecoterrorists, anti-fascists and abortion opponents charged with violent crimes.

The data isn’t predictive, Loadenthal said, but it is informative. Many criminal cases involve threats of harm to others, he said.

Students who take part on the project learn the ins and outs of courthouse databases to find information contained in criminal complaints, indictments, jury verdicts, plea deals and sentencings along with the skills needed to manage huge amounts of digital information.

Dozens of students scour court web portals such as Public Access to Court Electronic Records, or PACER, for relevant cases. Others upload data, while still others conduct audits of existing data to ensure accuracy, Loadenthal said.

Political science student Madison Brown began working on the database for her Honors Program research project. Now she volunteers to add trial updates gleaned from the court docket.

“I was a PACER newbie. I had never used it before, but I’m a master now,” she said. “I definitely think the Prosecution Project has taught me how to do valid research.”

Brown said she was surprised by how long it takes criminal cases to wind through state and federal courts. But she thinks the database provides invaluable context to understand political violence.

“Nobody wants to live in a violent place. Political violence has no place in America. But as long as the crimes happen, we’ll continue to track the cases,” Brown said.

Featured image at top: The Jan. 6th Committtee takes testimony on the 2020 attack on the U.S. Capitol. UC students have helped assemble a national database on felony criminal cases of political violence. Photo/House Select Committee