The United States Capitol Police, which looks into threats against members of Congress and the Capitol, reported Tuesday that the number of cases investigated last year grew by more than 50 percent.
The number of cases involving threats to people and places eligible for Capitol Police protection rose by more than 5,000 last year from 2024.
Curbing calls for physical harm in political discourse would help reduce the number of such threats, the police said.
“Decreasing violent political rhetoric is one of the best ways to decrease the number of threats across the country,” the Capitol Police said.
By apparent coincidence, the Capitol Police statement was issued on the same day that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) was attacked while speaking at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis. A man used a syringe to spray an unknown liquid at Omar, the police said.
In trying to explain the sharp increase in the number of threat investigations, the Capitol Police cited the ease and seeming lack of accountability associated with online messaging.
“People continue to have a false sense of anonymity online, which has resulted in more investigations during the past several years,” the Capitol Police said.
Members of Congress from both political parties receive a wide range of threats and concerning statements, which can be sent through the mail, email, telephone and social media, the police said.
Last year the Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section investigated 14,938 “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex,” the agency said.
Before the 9,474 cases involving threats in 2024, the figures were 8,008 in 2023 and 7,501 the year before that, the Capitol Police said.
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