Professor Matthew Krain shares expertise in political violence on disturbing new trend in multiple media outlets

Perpetrators of political violence have been engaging in a new way to get their messages across: engraving their bullet casings. Matthew Krain, professor of political science at The College of Wooster, studies human rights, repression, and political violence. He recently shared his expertise for an article in The Washington Post and in a radio interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

The idea that perpetrators of political violence would share their reason for such violence is nothing new. After all, Krain noted in his CBC interview, John Wilkes Booth shouted “Sic semper tyrannis” (thus always to tyrants) as he jumped from the balcony to the stage after assassinating Abraham Lincoln. Engraved bullet casings are a fairly recent development and one that can have disturbing implications.

“People don’t do this by accident,” Krain said to the CBC. “There’s always a motivation behind it.” He explained that the media has gotten better at not sharing killers’ manifestos. Consequently, that has caused some shooters to find other ways to get their messages out into the public. “[Engraving a bullet casing] guarantees their message gets out there, and they are controlling the narrative,” Krain said to The Washington Post. That narrative can spread quickly online. What’s more, photos of engraved bullet casings are easily shareable on social media and likely to go viral, especially worrisome to Krain. “It amplifies the person’s voice,” he said to the CBC. “The more publicity this particular approach gets, the more likely it’s going to be copied.”

Krain also worries about the tendency of some groups to jump to conclusions about a killer’s motives and political leanings before a full investigation is completed. An unfortunate byproduct of this quick reaction is to lump together those committing political violence with those who practice nonviolent forms of protest into one homogenous group.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that some messages in recent cases have been related to gaming or memes. Krain explains that, not only does this make the messages even more difficult to understand, but it can lessen the impact of a horrific act.

“The language involved is important,” he said to the CBC. “When that sort of offhand language is used, it makes it seem less impactful and less frightening than it really is and maybe creates a permission structure for others to engage in that behavior.”

Posted in Faculty, News on October 15, 2025.