Recent incidents include death threats targeting New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a purported road rage attack against Ohio Congressman Max Miller, and an alleged attempted kidnapping targeting Memphis Mayor Paul Young.
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| Picture of Max Miller, a Republican representative. |
The NYPD hate crimes task force is investigating multiple death threats against Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist candidate endorsed by prominent figures like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The threats included explicit statements to bomb his car and Islamophobic voicemails left at his office. His campaign attributed the threats to "dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric."
Miller, who is Jewish, reported being "run off the road" in his congressional district by a man displaying a Palestinian flag who allegedly yelled "death to Israel" and threatened to kill his family. Authorities have arrested Feras Hamdan, 36, of Westlake, Ohio, in connection with the incident.
In Memphis, police arrested Trenton Abston, 25, on charges including stalking and attempted kidnapping after he allegedly scaled a wall at Mayor Paul Young’s residence with "a taser, gloves, rope and duct tape" found in his vehicle.
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| Picture of Paul Young, the Memphis mayor. |
These incidents occurred shortly after the murder of Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota Democratic state representative, and her husband Mark, alongside the serious wounding of state senator John Hoffman and his wife in a separate attack last Saturday. The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, who faces murder charges, has been reported as being an extremist with pro-Trump and anti-abortion views. A hit list of "dozens and dozens" of Democratic politicians' names was discovered in Boelter’s car. As a result, Hillary Scholten, a member of Congress from Michigan, cancelled a public town hall, citing safety concerns.
In response to the escalating threats, members of Congress from both parties are calling for increased security funding and enhanced protection measures. The Capitol Police have requested nearly $1 billion in funding for next year. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has stated that "the violence and threats against elected officials has drastically increased" and called for more money to protect lawmakers.
The Capitol Police investigated 9,474 threats to lawmakers and their families last year, an increase of nearly 1,500 compared with 2023. This trend has escalated over the past five years, peaking in 2021, highlighting the growing concerns surrounding political violence in the United States.