The Capitol Police is still feeling the aftereffects of the insurrection from January 6, constantly on the receiving end of threats. To this day, the police organization is set to hit a record high of 9,000 threats.
Documents obtained by NBC News revealed that the Capitol Police appear likely to receive 9,000 threats in 2021 following the Capitol insurrection. This is the highest number since 2020, when the police organization received 8,600 threats. In 2017, during Donald Trump’s first year in office, the Capitol Police received and investigated only 3,900 threats.
While federal officials have the advantage of reaching out to several law enforcement agencies in Washington, the same advantage could not be applied to state-level officials. The attacks on Congress also reveal the rising security risks that public health officials face from both federal and state levels as well as school boards.
NBC News cited Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff’s experience in an interview last month. “I had one person call and say ‘This is the gun I’m going to use. I’m going to put three bullets in the back of his head.’ You find yourself feeling uncomfortable sitting next to an open window in your home. And that’s not something I ever thought I would have to think in this country.”
The severity of the threats against lawmakers and other officials remains to be seen. The report explained that it is because many of the less prominent officials are the ones reporting threats. There are Republicans who have been at the receiving end of threats that stem from the fury of twice-impeached former President Donald Trump, but threats against Democrats have also increased.
Hundreds of insurrectionists have since been arrested and detained, with a portion already receiving their sentences for their involvement in the Capitol riots. A federal judge did not mince words about the former president during a plea hearing for Capitol insurrectionist Adam Johnson, who was seen carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the siege. The judge compared Trump’s insistence on a stolen election and voter fraud to former vice president Al Gore’s actions during the 2000 elections.
“Al Gore had a better case to argue than Mr. Trump, but was a man about what happened to him,” said federal judge Reggie Walton. “He accepted it and walked away.”
“What concerns me, sir is that you were gullible enough to come to Washington DC from Florida based on a lie, and the person who inspired you to do what you do is still making those statements, and my concern is that you are gullible enough to do it again,” Walton told the insurrectionist.