By Nisie
Political violence is a violent act committed by a person or party to achieve their political goals. At this time, it is difficult to determine who the aggressors are. Theories have ranged from an extreme right terrorist cell to an extreme far-left terrorist group, or even the possibility of involvement from our own government. However, these theories lack substantial evidence. Adding to the confusion, our information is filtered through an increasingly untrustworthy FBI director. Tragically, the latest victims were not politicians or political mouthpieces; they were political pawns.
On September 24, 2025, a van transporting immigrants was targeted by a gunman who opened fire on its occupants. Miguel Ángel García-Hernández, just 32 years old, and Norlan Guzman-Fuentes were killed. A statement from Miguel’s wife, shared by LULAC, described him as “a good man, a loving father, and the provider for our family.” Even though no ICE agents were harmed, investigators are labeling this incident as a tragic attack on ICE agents. Shortly after the news broke, the FBI released a photo of shell casings found at the scene. The casings in the photo displayed “anti-ICE” sentiments. Unfortunately, the shooter, Joshua John, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before he could be apprehended, leaving his motives unclear. According to interviews with the shooter’s brother, he was unaware of any strong feelings Joshua had about ICE, having seen him just two weeks before the incident without any indication of the tragedy to come. John was not known to have distinct political beliefs, either left or right; in fact, he was registered as an Independent. Unlike most lone-wolf attackers, he had no online footprint—no “anti-ICE” Reddit pages or far-left chat groups were found.
The Victims
Miguel Ángel García-Hernández was a 32-year-old husband and father. Like many immigrants, he was born in Mexico and came to America for a better life. He attended high school in Fort Worth. One of his former teachers remembered him as a lovely young man and was devastated to learn he lost his life in the attack. Before his death, he was living the “American dream.” His wife stated, via LULAC, that they had just bought their first home and were excited to create memories with their young family. Now, the family has nothing but memories of a dedicated man who worked hard to provide for them. Norlan Guzman-Fuentes was born in El Salvador and moved to Texas from Florida to work at a tree service. His aunt told The New York Times that he felt his time in the U.S. was limited since he was a noncitizen. He planned to return to El Salvador, but ICE arrested him before he could make that return. He died almost instantly following the attack, never having the opportunity to go home.
An opinion
I have been reporting on lone wolf terrorist attacks for nearly a decade, with my most notable work being the two-part series in 2015 titled “The Lone Wolf Terrorist.” In this series, I examined the warning signs and behaviors of attackers leading to their assaults. One significant case I analyzed was that of Dylan Roof. In June 2015, Roof entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Bible study; his sudden appearance caused alarm to some, but others didn’t think twice about him. Armed with a gun he purchased from a retail store, he killed nine African American individuals, including the senior pastor and state senator, Clementa C. Pinckney. Before the attack, there were clear warning signs. Roof was actively involved in multiple white supremacist chat groups, isolated himself from others, and distanced himself from his family. The Southern Poverty Law Center discovered that he had engaged with the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer. He even created his own website, lastrhodesian.com, where he shared neo-Nazi propaganda. Given these factors, Roof’s eventual attack on black churchgoers was tragically predictable, unlike Joshua John and Tyler James Robinson, whose actions were the least bit predictable.
Unlike the lone attackers before them, John and Robinson (Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin) did not leave a distinct online trail of hate; their friends and family never noticed any changes in their behavior. Neither attackers were known to have extreme political beliefs either way. Robinson’s grandma has told multiple news sources that her grandson was not known to own or shoot guns. Now, we cannot always expect the profiles of homegrown American terrorists to be completely identical every time, but there should be at least some similarities to previous cases. In the case of John and Robinsons, the only similarities are with each other; both have no history of extremist behavior, no social media trails, manifestos, or real motives.
