The racially charged graffiti reading "KKK Bitch" appeared in mid-October in Kokomo, Indiana, on cars, homes, and telephone poles. Many of the victims, including Peters, were African American, while others were not. Some of the victims had Democratic candidate lawn signs for the upcoming presidential election, which were painted over with the Ku Klux Klan initials. Peters believes that the divisive nature of the presidential campaign, particularly the aggressive and nativist language used by Republican candidate Donald Trump, has emboldened extremists. She believes that when political leaders make ignorant statements, it may give others the impression that such behavior is acceptable, which she finds deeply troubling. Our country appears to be regressing. The police have no leads in the attacks, but Democrats suspect political motives. Local Republicans are doubtful, attributing the damage to ignorant troublemakers. The divisive political rhetoric is spreading across the country, polarizing the public. The impact is difficult to measure due to the lack of national data on politically motivated crimes and inflammatory speech. However, there has been an increase in the percentage of voters who believe it is acceptable to insult political opponents, rising from 30 percent in March to 43 percent in October, according to surveys conducted by the non-partisan Pew Research Center during the campaign season. A majority of voters from both parties have negative views of the opposing party, a trend that is unprecedented since Pew began asking this question in 1992. Trust in government is currently at an all-time low. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, believes these indicators point to growing inter-group tensions that can lead to various levels of aggression, including extreme acts. The focus of much of the hostility has been on immigrants, African Americans, and other groups associated with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, but Republicans have also been targeted. The discussion on extremism has mainly centered around the Alt-Right, a movement consisting of white nationalists, anti-Semites, and immigration opponents that has aligned itself with the Trump campaign after emerging from obscurity. A person who supports the Ku Klux Klan was photographed with his tattoos during a rally at the statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina on July 18, 2015. Trump's promises to construct a wall along the Mexican border, remove millions of undocumented immigrants, and closely examine Muslims for connections to terrorism have sparked enthusiasm within the Alt-Right community. Michael Hill, a self-professed white supremacist and leader of the League of the South, believes that the Alt-Right's rhetoric has helped validate their concerns about the decline of the white, Christian majority in the country. Hill stated that the political climate surrounding certain campaigns has been beneficial for right-wing groups, including his own. Nationalist sentiments have also been on the rise in other countries such as Russia, Japan, and Britain, where a pro-EU lawmaker was killed during the Brexit debate. In the United States, there have been numerous reports of hostile political acts, vandalism, and violence, such as the burning of a black church in Mississippi and the spray painting of a building with "Nazi Republicans leave town" in North Carolina. A man in Utah who had Trump yard signs on display discovered KKK graffiti on his car, while in Wisconsin, a fan at a college football game wore a President Barack Obama mask with a noose around his neck. Both the Trump and Clinton campaigns did not respond to requests for comment. Jared Taylor, a white nationalist, stated that Trump's beliefs align with the Alt-Right's goal of "slowing the dispossession of whites," but he believes the media is exaggerating Trump's support within the Alt-Right in order to discredit him. Critics from both sides, including Democrats and some Republicans, have reproached Trump for being slow to denounce extreme elements of the political right. However, when a prominent KKK newspaper published a favorable article about Trump, his campaign quickly released a statement denouncing it as "repulsive." Despite this, figures like Taylor, Hill, and other Alt-Right members claim they do not support vandalism or violence. They argue that their rhetoric should not be classified as hate speech and believe they are unfairly targeted and vilified by the left. On the other hand, left-wing extremists have a history of aggressively confronting individuals or groups they perceive as fascist or racist, according to Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks extremist movements. She mentioned that the anti-racists often engage in more violence than the racists. The First Amendment of the US Constitution provides extensive protections for controversial speech. However, laws at the state and federal levels do allow law enforcement to investigate and charge individuals for committing "hate crimes" targeting individuals based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, or sexual orientation. Research conducted by California State University reported a 6 percent rise in hate crimes last year, with a significant increase of 86 percent in crimes against Muslims. Some individuals involved in politics and academia believe that there has been a gradual decline in respectful behavior that predates the current presidential campaign. Craig Dunn, the Republican party chairman for Howard County, Indiana, which encompasses Kokomo, suggests that a small number of extreme viewpoints are being magnified through the use of the Internet and social media, contributing to a general breakdown in politeness. Local leaders are concerned about the impact on their community. Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight, a Democrat, notes that the atmosphere has become more volatile and tense. He finds the recent graffiti incidents particularly alarming, stating, “I do not recall anything like this ever occurring before.” Monica Fowler, a 43-year-old resident who had her Democratic yard signs defaced with “KKK,” is struggling to cope with the hate-filled attacks. She acknowledges that it is acceptable to have differing opinions, but strongly condemns actions that may frighten or hurt someone else.