Will Rollins: We cannot allow violence to define America’s next chapter
As a federal prosecutor, I volunteered to help the Secret Service protect President Trump twice on his visits to Southern California in 2019. I didn’t volunteer because I agreed with his politics. I volunteered because if our leaders aren’t safe, our Constitution and our democracy aren’t either.
This past weekend, Americans witnessed an extraordinary display of these values — plus incredible courage — when several Secret Service agents put their bodies directly into the path of more potential bullets that could’ve struck former President Trump. The agents’ selfless act wasn’t motivated by the red and blue of our national politics. It was motivated by the red, white, and blue of our stars and stripes.
I developed an even greater personal appreciation for that principle during my first Congressional campaign in 2022, when law enforcement detained a man who said he planned to assassinate me. After speaking to the detective, I wondered if I made the right decision to trade a career where I’d helped federal agents respond to death threats for a job where I now received them. I viscerally understood how fear can stifle speech, debate, and, perhaps worst of all, the willingness to serve.
That is why the attack on former President Trump was an attack on all of us. So was the horrific attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, along with Congressman Steve Scalise, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, President Ronald Reagan, the Kennedys, Dr. King, and far too many others throughout our history.
Congress needs to take immediate steps to increase security for our leaders, enact common sense gun safety reforms, and fix a broken online ecosystem that maximizes profits by amplifying divisive, violent, and conspiratorial content.
Fortunately, in the days after the attack, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are already discussing enhancements to Secret Service protection for presidential candidates. Congress should come together and pass these bills and fully fund federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Secret Service as they complete their investigations and increase protective measures. We need similar enhancements to security for members of Congress, federal judges, and even political candidates running for higher-level offices.
Americans also deserve a federal red flag law to enable law enforcement, including the Secret Service, to obtain a court order to take assault rifles away from those who threaten political violence before it happens. The attempt on President Trump’s life was carried out with an AR-15; yet another shooting that underscores why we need this commonsense reform.
Finally, Congress must start meaningfully addressing our broken information system, in which the most dangerous content often rises to the top of our algorithms and brings in the most dollars. The largest tech giants in the country should not be allowed to make billions by promoting the same kinds of falsehoods (with complete legal immunity) that would get small
business owners and news outlets sued out of existence. These reforms would also encourage more public servants — and fewer content creators — to run for the House of Representatives.
Congressman Calvert and I disagree about a lot. We may have our divisions, and this campaign will be spirited. But loving your neighbor — and your fellow Americans — should never depend on whether they plan to vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump, Will Rollins or Ken Calvert, or the red team versus blue. The path back to our collective humanity lies in one direction — forward, as one country — and we cannot allow this violence to define America’s next chapter.
Will Rollins is a former assistant U.S. attorney and a candidate to represent California’s 41st congressional district.