Threats against members of Congress spiked in 2024
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Capitol Police officers stand guard at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2025. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images.
Threats against members of Congress skyrocketed in 2024, marking a return to levels not seen since the year after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to new Capitol Police data.
Why it matters: The data suggests that the chaotic events of 2024 — punctuated by two assassination attempts against President Trump — are emblematic of a volatile period in American politics.
- After dipping down considerably between 2021 and 2022, Capitol Police threat assessment cases have since risen at an accelerating pace.
- The level of threats has risen drastically since the start of Trump's first term in 2017.
By the numbers: The Capitol Police said in a press release on Monday that their Threat Assessment Section opened 9,474 investigations into threats against members of Congress, their families and staffers.
- That is up from just over 8,000 in 2023 and 7,500 in 2022.
- It's just short of the 9,625 in 2021 — the year following the Jan. 6 attack — which was the most since the start of the first Trump administration.
Between the lines: The press release noted that "the number of concerning statements and direct threats usually increases during election years," when partisan passions run particularly hot.
- However, last year also saw several incidents unrelated to the election, including threatening phone calls made to members of Congress over a bill to force a sale of TikTok.
- Protests over the war in Gaza continued to roil Capitol Hill, with many arrests made around Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress in July.
- Lawmakers also faced a spate of bomb threats against their residences over Thanksgiving.
What they're saying: "The growing trend of threats against Members of Congress, as well as threats against family and staff, is one of USCP's top challenges," Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.), the chair of the House Administration Committee, told Axios in a statement.
- "I'm committed to working with USCP to ensure we can track and properly respond to the increase in threats we're seeing each year," he added.
- Capitol Police chief Tom Manger said in a statement: "We must continue to enhance our protective and intelligence operations to keep up with this evolving threat environment."
- The Capitol Police has hired attorneys detailed to the Department of Justice as special assistant U.S. attorneys to handle the increased caseload.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to add a quote from Rep. Steil.
