Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them.
Both of the acts described by @leaffur are criminal, for a political purpose (i.e. silencing a dissenting opinion) and meant to instill terror in the person or group of people against which they are targeted.