Lawmakers across the country have inquired about buying security equipment, such as pepper spray and bulletproof vests, for their offices in the wake of the Capitol protests in January, Politico reports.
Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman recently testified that threats against members of Congress have almost doubled in the first two months of this year, having already seen a substantial increase between 2017 and 2020.
"Threats have an impact," said State Rep. Kevin Hertel, D-Mich., who added threats against lawmakers recently have risen in his state. "You can hear the fear in people's voices when they talk about these issues."
Last month, law enforcement in Michigan managed to prevent a plot to kidnap the governor and storm the floor of the House chamber. Following these incidents, Hertel said he tried to find out if he could pay for home security and protective equipment with campaign funds.
"Protective gear became one of those necessary office expenditures," he said. "It became a cost of doing the job."
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who is leading an effort from 32 members of Congress to see if their office allowances could pay local law enforcement, and fund security upgrades to their homes and offices, said that "between Jan. 6 and the massive increase in threats, you worry a lot about your family and your staff. It’s not just to protect you, it’s to protect people near you."
Members of Congress were recently informed they will receive about $65,000 to pay for additional security measures, but Gottheimer asked in his letter that since law enforcement agencies lack the resources to investigate and protect against every threat, if members of Congress could use their allowance to hire local law enforcement for additional security.
"All these things are much more real, I think, after Jan. 6," Gottheimer said.
State Sen. Michael Moore, D-Mass., said he inquired with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance to see if bulletproof vests, gas masks, and pepper spray for him and his staff could be paid for with campaign money.
"As a supervisor or boss, I should at least entertain any reasonable request that is going to make them feel safer at work," Moore said. "I think you may see more states allow this type of expenditure."
He added staffers have expressed concern about some of the conspiracy theories and threats they've heard from constituents, which they said have increased in recent times, with Moore himself noting an alarming call he received several years ago saying that "all Jews should burn."
He said, "After that threat ... I went home and I talked about it with my family, and I think that’s the first time I had some sort of concern."
Moore went on to say that threats like these "may deter good people from running for office because they see what elected officials are going through."
He added that the violence at the Capitol increased concerns.
"When you’ve seen what you’ve seen down in Washington ... you don’t know," Moore said. "What may seem like an idle threat may not be an idle threat anymore."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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