Cheerleaders for Violence: The Troubling Defense of Terror in Boulder

Yahoo

15 hours ago

It was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration. Instead, it ended in flames. But what came after the attack in Boulder may be even more incendiary, especially online, where some users in their teens and 20s were not condemning the violence. They were endorsing it.
On a clear afternoon in late May, a pro-Israel demonstration on Boulder, Colorados iconic Pearl Street Mall turned into a scene of terror. An Egyptian citizen, wielding improvised firebombs, attacked the crowd, injuring 15 people and igniting panic in a city more often associated with peaceful protests and college town calm. Authorities swiftly arrested the suspect, now charged with multiple felonies including attempted murder and arson. Law enforcement has labeled the incident an act of terrorism.
But while the violence rattled the city and the Jewish community in particular, a very different response was unfolding online.
Videos posted by major outlets such as ABC News, Daily Mail, and MSNBC quickly amassed thousands of views on TikTok and Instagram. In the comment sections, a disturbing trend emerged: Rather than denouncing the attack, many young users applauded it.
"He just wanted freedom for Palestine."
"Keep up the good work brother! Hero."
"Free him, he did no wrong. He did what we all wanted."
"I was about to comment about how terrible this is and then I realized it was a pro-Israel rally and I suddenly didnt feel bad anymore."
Some expressed outright Jew-hatred, writing things like, "Reduce their population" and "We owe Germany an apology." Others painted the attacker as a martyr or revolutionary. Several claimed the incident was staged entirely, a so-called "false flag" to build sympathy for Israel.
This chorus of justification, denial, and celebration is jarring but not entirely surprising given the current climate.
Recent polling shows a dramatic shift in how young Americans view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to Pew Research Center, 53% of U.S. adults now hold an unfavorable view of Israel. Support for the Palestinian cause has grown, particularly among Democrats and younger voters. In one RealClearPolling analysis,respondentsunder 28 years old were more likely than any other age group to sympathize with Palestinians over Israelis and to view Israels military actions in Gaza as unjustified.
As someone from this generation, and from Boulder, Ive watched these sentiments evolve online, where politics blur with memes and moral lines often collapse under the weight of outrage or irony. Seeing this unfold in my own hometown made it feel less like an aberration and more like a wake-up call. Whats chilling isnt just the cruelty of the comments. Its how natural they seem to the people posting them, many of whom are my peers.
Layered atop this political shift is a deepening distrust of institutions. A significant share of younger Americans express skepticism toward government narratives, traditional news media, and even the legitimacy of domestic law enforcement. According to the spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll, fewer than one in three express trust in major institutions. But when that skepticism is applied to something as clear and violent as the Boulder attack, is it truly thoughtful or is it reflexive, corrosive doubt - the kind that opens the door to conspiracism and moral disengagement?
That mindset helps explain the abundance of conspiracy-laden responses: "Yeah they set this up. Dont believe it at all," read one comment. Another called it a "planned distraction," while others insisted it was staged with actors. Though many of these reactions remain anonymous and ephemeral, they point to a generational divide not just in foreign policy, but in the moral frameworks through which violence is interpreted.
Zoe Mardiks, a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder and a Jewish student leader, was at her apartment when she learned of the attack. "My first reaction was to text some of my other Jewish friends to check in and ensure that everyone was okay and safe," she said. "I felt very scared that this had happened in my community."
What disturbed her just as much as the attack itself was the flood of online comments defending it. "The ongoing justification for violence significantly downplays the rights of Jews and Israel to exist," Mardiks said. In her view, social media has warpedher generations sense of moral clarity. "Because of how the war has been broadcast on social media, everyone feels they have a say in the issue and believes they possess all the knowledge," she said.
Mardiks said her response to those defending the attacker is simple: "If you truly care about saving or freeing anyone, we can only do that by educating each other in a non-attacking way … the line is drawn when you praise violence."
The Boulder attack marks a grim milestone: a foreign conflict spilling onto American soil in the form of violence, and met, in some corners of the Internet, with tacit approval. That many of those corners are populated by Americans under 30 raises hard questions about what this generation, my generation, believes, whom they stand with, and what they consider justifiable resistance.
For us, the line between protest and terrorism used to feel clear. Now, for too many, that line seems negotiable. "He did what we all wanted." If thats true, we may need to start asking what "we" really means now.
Adair Teuton is a 2025 intern with RealClearPolitics.