What is Violence?
by Sue Basko
The United States Penal Code defines violence as:
TITLE 18 PART I CHAPTER 1 § 16
§ 16. CRIME OF VIOLENCE DEFINED
The term “crime of violence” means—
(a) an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or
(b) any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.
If you wondered if using physical force against property is considered violence -- under federal law, yes, this is violence.