Minnesota shootings reign the security problems for Congress members

Washington – The Targeted shootings of two minnesota state legislators has renewed an urgent debate on Capitol Hill while the members of the Congress increase the alarms of their security in the middle of the climbing of political rhetoric and violent threats.

The law enforcement officials began to organize a series of security briefings with groups of congress legislators who will continue on Tuesday. Legislators have been informed that they could spend money from their office budgets for domestic safety systems and the private security campaign. Only a handful of Congress leaders benefit from 24 -hour protection against the details of the Capitol police security, although members can request additional protection, which is assigned according to the question of whether the Capitol police determine that there is an active threat.

But so far, these insurances have not done much to calm the nervous legislators, who house such concerns in the midst of a series of violent attacks against American politicians in the past 15 years – a period that has included attempts at assassination on a presidential candidate and members of the Congress and a riot of the American Capitol.

“It is frightening like SH–,” said a legislator of the upper chamber, describing what the members of the Congress feel after the Minnesota shots. “We have implemented new security and security procedures since January 6, 2021. They include coordination of my district trips with local police. We will review people in the light of the assassination in Minnesota. ”

The authorities said on Monday that the suspectVance Boelter visited the houses of four elected officials early Saturday Saturday a police officer. The authorities say they have shot and killed the state representative, Melissa Hortman and her husband, shortly after having seriously injured the state senator John Hoffman and his wife during a separate shooting at their home. He was arrested on Sunday evening.

A long list of names of democratic officials found in the Boelter vehicle included those of several members of the Congress, as a sense. Tina Smith from Minnesota and Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin and the Angie Craig representatives of Minnesota, Debbie Dingell of Michigan and Greg Landsman of Ohio.

“Both with the president and his administration and with members of the congress … We have to lower the temperature,” Baldwin told journalists at the Capitole on Monday evening. “There is never room for political violence. The words count. “

Representative Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., Said on Monday that she had canceled a town hall on Monday evening after learning that her name was also on the suspect’s list.

“The open and honest dialogue with western Michigan is at the heart of my service – and I will not be dissuaded to defend this community,” said Scholten in a statement. “By an abundance of prudence and not to divert additional resources to apply the law far from the protection of the wider public at the moment, this is the responsible choice.”

Legislators press the leaders of the Congress on Security

After Minnesota shots, the Democrats of the Chamber supported their republican counterparts on Monday to protect the members of the Congress.

The head of the minority of the Hakeem Jeffries room, DN.Y., and the representative Joe Morelle, Dny, classification member of the Chamber Administration Committee, asked President Mike Johnson, R-La., To stimulate the official budgets of the Chamber’s members “to support additional security and security measures in each office”.

Some members of the Congress have complained that there is not enough money in office budgets to go around and that spending it in security can withdraw other critical needs. To increase the budget of the offices, the congress should approve an increase in the annual bill on the credits of the legislative branches.

“Although we differ in many areas related to politics and our vision of the future of America, members’ security must be a common field,” wrote Jeffries and Morelle in a letter. “Representatives on both sides of the aisle have undergone assassination attempts that have changed their lives and their careers forever. Too many other patriotic officials have left the congress because they no longer felt safe to achieve their duty as elected officials. ”

In response to The attempt to assassinate The American district judge Esther Salas of New Jersey in 2020, the Congress adopted a bill in 2022 to protect the personally identifiable information of the judges and allow them to make personal information in certain online cases.

In the wake of Minnesota fire, legislators have renewed discussions on adopting a bill that would give itself the same protections, according to a source that knows how to know talks.

“I have been pleading for a long time for the confidentiality of data for everyone, including the residences of the legislators, and I have encountered resistance in the past,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-minn., In a press release. “Maybe these horrible murders will change the feeling within the congress.”

On Saturday, the Républicains de la Chambre held a one -hour virtual call with the house sergeant in Arms William McFarland and the Capitol police to discuss security problems.

The call was tense, according to two members who were there. Ten to 15 legislators have spoke, expressing concerns about their security, especially when they return home to their districts.

A republican legislator told NBC News that the call was “terrible”, adding that the leaders had protection of details but that “nothing has changed” for the other members, despite the concerns about security before Minnesota shots.

Another source said the call, which took place on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the Puff on a convention baseball practice in 2017,, was almost entirely on the need of police protection legislators at home and fear that their personal information will be so easily available.

McFarland has traveled some of the security options for members. And leadership has assured members that other ways will be explored to see if more can be done to protect legislators at home.

Chamber Democrats are expected to have a similar virtual briefing on Tuesday. Senators will also have a briefing in person on Tuesday.

“I have been worried about the security of the legislators for a long time. People are getting more and more cheeky,” said senator Kevin Cramer, RN.D., who said his cousin Germain lived “two doors below” from the shooting in Champlin, Minnesota. “It’s too close to his home. It’s so sad. “

“Everyone in my family, you end up putting your head on a pivot and you hate living this way,” he added.

Elected officials are faced with growing threats

Threats against legislators have increased regularly in recent years. Last year, Capitol police Threat evaluation section Investigated out of 9,474 concerning direct declarations and threats against members of the Congress, their families or their staff members, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. The only year threats were recorded was recorded in 2021, following the January 6 attack on the Capitol, when the police investigated 9,625 threats.

A 25 -year -old man of Georgia was on Monday was charged on federal accusations to make violent threats against meaning. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Declared the Ministry of Justice.

But ensuring 24 -hour protection for the 535 members of the congress would be financially and logistically impractical. And the Capitol police had trouble recruiting and retaining officers, even before the attack on January 6, although in recent years, the department has launched an aggressive recruitment effort.

Instead, officials highlighted the security resources already available for legislators. After the riot of January 6, the sergeant of the Maison d’Arms created a program allowing each member to use up to $ 10,000 to install and maintain security systems at home.

And taking into account the threats on the campaign track, the Federal Electoral Commission recently began to authorize candidates in the House and Senate spend campaign funds On security, including private security agents, cybersecurity and domestic safety systems.

During the electoral cycle of 2024, candidates in the House and Senate spent $ 8.5 million on security related expenses, according to an NBC News review of the FEC declarations. It is an increase compared to the most that $ 7.5 million Congress campaigns spent during cycle 2022. Former Senator Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., Directed all senators, spending more than $ 1.2 million for these security costs, while representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., led members of the chamber by spending $ 432,241.

There have been several examples of high -level political leaders that have been targeted to attack in recent years.

In January 2011, representative Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., Was shot in the lead as she met voters in a grocery store of Tucson. Giffords survived, but six of the other 18 people injured in death died.

In June 2017, a shooter open fire On Republicans as they practiced in Alexandria, Virginia, for the annual Congress Baseball Charitable match. Four people were killed, including representative Steve Scalizes, R-La, then the majority whip of the house, who almost died.

The members of the Chamber and the Senate, as well as the vice-president Mike Pence, were targeted by pro-Donald Trump rioters who stormed the Capitole January 6, 2021, In order to reverse the results of the 2020 elections.

In October 2022, a man broke into the house of San Francisco of the representative Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Then the president of the room, and attacked her husband with a hammer. The man was 30 -year -old in prison.

And last July, just a few months before the presidential election, Trump narrowly survived a assassination attempt During a Pennsylvania rally after a shooter pulled several bullets and hit his ear. Trump survived another attempted life in September while he golf in Florida.

“It clearly resembles a political assassination, and there is simply no room for that in this country,” said GOP Senator Eric Schmitt, the former Missouri Attorney General, about the Minnesota shooting. “I think it’s a moment for the country to step back and everyone to condemn it.”