I don't speak for other posters and I've said nothing yet about Trump, though I do think the way he exploited the fears and anger of voters during the election has helped foment the current state of tension in this country. 

I will agree that there have been excesses on both sides, but I don't agree that Hodgkinson (and perhaps Fields, though it's too early to say) represent "sides." Irrational people often find causes to justify their actions, but it isn't the cause itself that makes them irrational. If Hodgkinson wasn't obsessed with Sanders he would have been obsessed with something else. People like him are time-bombs and any reason to explode will do.