Idaho’s first lady joins call for unity amid increase in political violence across the U.S.

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun)– Teresa Little, Idaho’s first lady and wife of Gov. Brad Little, has joined dozens of other spouses of U.S. governors in a call for unity and to condemn political violence across the nation.

She, along with 34 other first spouses across the U.S., signed on to a letter dated Sept. 11 to call on Americans to “listen more, eliminate hate and find connection and healing” after highly publicized acts of political violence have rocked the country within the last year.

The call comes one day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem and three months after Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband was shot and killed by an assailant in their home. That attacker also shot Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, but they survived.

A shooter also fired on U.S. President Donald Trump, and a bystander was killed, at a campaign rally in July 2024 in Pennsylvania before the attacker was shot and killed by the U.S. Secret Service.

“As First Spouses of states and territories across the country, we are in a unique position to both witness and experience the contempt that has permeated our culture,” the first spouses wrote. “Today, we stand together — across political backgrounds — to condemn political violence of every kind.”

The first spouses wrote that they are committed to seeing every American “as a person with inherent dignity and worth,” and that the U.S. system of democracy and unity as a country depends on Americans finding common ground with one another.

“The soul of America is corroded every time hateful rhetoric or violence takes root. Peacemakers are needed in every corner of our society, especially in our politics,” the group wrote. “Our children are watching. They desperately need us to show them a better way.”

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