Summary
- Congress speeding security review after Charlie Kirk assassination.
- GOP leadership working with Sergeant at Arms on upgrades.
- Threat investigations of members rose to 9,474 in 2024.
- Some lawmakers canceled events citing security concerns.
The murder of political activist Charlie Kirk has refocused attention on America's problems with political violence and rekindled concerns about their safety among public figures, including lawmakers, who worry they may be the target of reprisals.
Members of Congress and other prominent political people are worried about their safety in the wake of the shooting and the nation's problems stopping political violence, while authorities and public safety agencies have been on high alert in the two days since Kirk's death.
In the wake of Kirk's passing, members of Congress from both parties have petitioned the leadership for increased protection, and a number of them have rescheduled or canceled outdoor events.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said she was postponing a rally this weekend out of caution and respect for Kirk, South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for governor, told reporters she was canceling outdoor and public events for the foreseeable future. A progressive group in Michigan canceled a town hall planned for Friday that included Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Becca Balint due to “an abundance of caution.”
“People are scared to death in this building. I mean, not many of them will say it publicly, but they’re running to the Speaker talking about security — and that’s a lot of Republicans,”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who was targeted in an assassination plot, told reporters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said officials were expediting a planned review of congressional member security after the shooting after lawmakers in both parties started to come to him for more security funding.
"We're in a deliberate review process right now to determine what measures are appropriate, how much we could allocate for that. We've got to protect people who run for public office or no one will, and that's heavy on our hearts and minds as we also work through the trauma of what happened,”
Johnson told reporters on Thursday.
It occurs as a result of increased threats against politicians, their families, and staff, and the fact that the U.S. Capitol Police, the primary security force for members of Congress and their families, do not have security details for all 435 members. Last year, there were about 9,500 threats and alarming remarks directed against MPs, compared to less than 4,000 in 2017.
This summer, Melissa Hortman, a former Democratic state speaker of the Minnesota state house, and her husband were murdered in their home on the same day that Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot several times; Josh Shapiro, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, had his house burned down while he and his family were sleeping.
“You're never going to have perfect security, that's just the reality of the world we live in,”
said Javed Ali, a former counterterrorism official in federal government and associate professor of practice at the University of Michigan.
“The most glaring indicator that is the fact that we have four presidents assassinated and two near-misses in our country's history.
“That's the president, the most protected person on the planet — and yet, there have been times where individuals have been able to exploit the gaps in presidential security and then there are lots of other attempts against other elected officials, cultural icons, political figures.”
Authorities identified the alleged shooter as Tyler Robinson, age 22, but nothing is known about what motivated him to attack Kirk. At a news conference on Friday, however, officials stated that they think he acted alone, adding to the list of suspects who have threatened the nation and its elected leaders from within.
“These are not attacks directed by terrorist groups from foreign from overseas or foreign governments. These are all almost always lone individuals operating on their own here in the United States,”
Ali said.
“How do you how do you get inside the minds of people who are slowly getting angry and radicalized and have these grievances banging around in their head?”
Although authorities have not yet disclosed Robinson's motivation, they claim to have discovered antifascist iconography and references to video game and internet culture terminology engraved on bullet casings from the rifle used in the incident. The cartridges bore phrases such as "Hey fascist! "Catch!" which demonstrated Robinson's intention, according to Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
How does Capitol Police funding change under proposed plans?
The U.S. Capitol Police is requesting a budget increase of 14-15% from its current funding, raising its budget to approximately $840 million to $906 million.
The increase will help further the force's mission towards a protective model of law enforcement, including increasing officer numbers and security measures. The funding would allow for more education and training of officers, expanding intelligence gathering, threat-assessment, nationwide jurisdiction, and operational readiness for large events such as presidential inaugurations or certification of elections.
The expanded budget signifies the transition from simply protecting the Capitol complex to protecting the members of Congress, including during public events and travel across the country.