FBI: Violent Threats to Lawmakers on the Rise

The January shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., sent shudders through offices of both parties around Capitol Hill, and for good reason. Last year produced a record high for congressmen receiving threats of violence, according to interviews and FBI documents obtained by The Hill.

Experts say the intense debate over healthcare reform helped spark the threats, and representatives of both parties were on the receiving end.

In March 2010, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received a phone call from a man who said, “I’m going to come down there and put a bullet in your a** when you leave.”

Around the same time, staff in the Washington office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell fielded a call in which someone from California said, “I’m going to kill you and your senator and your staff.”