Titus Annius Milo got himself a gang of enslaved men and gladiators and, before long, political meetings became brawls. Every election was now a battleground. Rome was in chaos. For years. By 52 BCE, gang violence had become as normal a part of political life as bribery and prosecuting one another for gang violence. In Cassius Dio’s words, murder had become an everyday occurrence and by this he means open murders in the street. It was impossible to hold elections without them turning into bloodbaths so no one was holding elections.
