WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate will gather behind closed doors Tuesday to hear from federal law enforcement officials about protection for lawmakers and the safety of their families, just days after a gunman said to be posing as a police officer targeted state lawmakers in Minnesota.
The briefing from U.S. Capitol Police and the Senate Sergeant at Arms follows years of increased funding for both entities as threats and attempted assassinations against members of Congress have become part of the job.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said Monday on the floor that the suspected shooter had a list of more than 70 public officials he wanted to target, including several members of the Senate.
“My highest priority right now is working with the Senate leadership on both sides, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police, to ensure everyone’s safety,” Schumer said. “This weekend I asked Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms to increase security for members, including Sen. (Alex) Padilla and the Minnesota senators.”
California Sen. Padilla moved to the forefront of the public debate about immigration and deportations last week when he was forcibly removed from a press conference after trying to ask Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question while she was still speaking.
Schumer said the briefing would be an opportunity for USCP and the SAA to “convey what they’re doing for members to keep them safe.”
He urged senators to “come together” to oppose political violence in all forms, before criticizing Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee for social media posts. Lee made two posts that drew condemnation.
“I was deeply disappointed and sickened to see a member of this chamber use the tragedy in Minnesota to take cheap political shots at the other side on social media and risk escalating a perilous moment,” Schumer said. “What the senior senator from Utah posted after the shooting was reckless and beneath the dignity of his office.
“For a senator to fan the flames of division with falsities while the killer was still on the loose is deeply irresponsible. He should take down his post immediately and apologize to the families of the victims.”
On another social media account, Lee wrote, “These hateful attacks have no place in Utah, Minnesota, or anywhere in America.”
Suspect faces state and federal charges
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the attack on the two state lawmakers and their spouses was clearly motivated by politics.
Klobuchar said she has received additional security and that she was concerned about the possibility of more attacks against lawmakers.
“I have had threats before, as several of our colleagues have had,” Klobuchar said. “And I think one of the things is, we don’t talk about this stuff much because you don’t want to see copycats that copy exactly what they’ve done.”
The suspected gunman, who was arrested Sunday following a manhunt, has been charged by both state and federal prosecutors with murdering state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and attempting to kill state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.
The suspect went to the homes of at least two other state lawmakers and had a list of Democratic lawmakers’ home addresses as well as abortion providers, according to police.
Lawmakers disclose they were on list of targets
The U.S. House won’t receive a security briefing this week since its members are out of session on a district work period, typically a time when lawmakers are back in their communities for town halls and other public events, though the shooting has led some members to change their schedules.
Michigan Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten announced Monday she would postpone her town hall in Muskegon, writing in a statement she didn’t want to “divert additional law enforcement resources away from protecting the broader public at this time.”
“Nothing matters more to me than the safety and well-being of the people I serve,” Scholten wrote. “After being made aware that my name was on a list connected to the recent tragic shooting in Minnesota, my office has made the difficult decision to postpone our planned town hall in Muskegon.”
Scholten added she hoped to “reschedule this event as soon as possible.”
Ohio Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman released a statement on Monday, announcing that USCP bolstered his security after his name was found among the suspected Minnesota shooter’s possessions.
“On Sunday morning, Capitol Police contacted my office to inform me that the FBI had found my name among the evidence collected during the search for a suspect in Minnesota — who is accused of murdering and seriously injuring lawmakers,” Landsman wrote. “Since the suspect was still at large at that time, we worked very closely with the Cincinnati Police Department to arrange for increased security for my family and me.”
Texas Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar wrote in a statement posted to social media that she was among the people the suspected Minnesota shooter had on his list.
“This was only a day after protestors were shot in Utah, an extremist drove a car into protests in Virginia, credible threats were made against state lawmakers in Austin and a man pointed a gun at protestors here in El Paso,” Escobar wrote.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Democratic Rep. Joseph D. Morelle, ranking member on the Committee on House Administration, wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Monday, urging him to take action to ensure members’ safety.
“While we differ in many areas related to policy and our vision for America’s future, Member safety must be an area of common ground. Representatives from both sides of the aisle have endured assassination attempts that changed their lives and careers forever,” the two wrote. “Too many other patriotic public servants have left Congress because they no longer felt safe carrying out their duty as elected officials. We must act to protect each other and preserve this great American institution.”
Threats on the rise over the years
Members of Congress and their families are no strangers to threats, which have steadily risen for years, attacks and shootings.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked in their family home in San Francisco in October 2022 by a man wielding a hammer, who was searching for Pelosi, a California Democrat.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La, was shot and severely wounded in 2017 when a gunman opened fire at GOP lawmakers practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. Several others were injured during the shooting.
Arizona Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords survived being shot in the head during a constituent meeting in a grocery store parking lot in 2011 when a gunman opened fire, killing six people and injuring a dozen others.
Even President Donald Trump, who has extensive Secret Service protection, was shot in the ear last July while campaigning in Pennsylvania. The gunman in that incident killed local fireman Corey Comperatore and injured two others.
The union representing U.S. Capitol Police warned more than a year ago that the federal law enforcement agency was struggling to keep up amid an increasingly hostile political environment and staffing shortages.
“We’ve never seen a threat environment like this,” union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou wrote in a statement. “Given the profound divisions in this country and this year’s elections, people ask me if I’m concerned and I tell them I am worried — very worried.”
Former USCP Chief Thomas Manger, who retired earlier this year, told lawmakers well before the union’s public statement that he was concerned by how few threats against members of Congress were actually prosecuted successfully.
Few threats led to prosecution
Klobuchar, who was chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee at the time of the hearing, said USCP referred 458 threat cases for prosecution during 2021, with 40 of those leading to a court case. That was out of 9,625 total threats.
Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, a USCP spokesperson confirmed to States Newsroom at the time.
Threats against lawmakers have continued to increase ever since.
USCP investigated 8,008 “concerning statements and direct threats against the Members of Congress, including their families and staff” in 2023 and 9,474 in 2024, according to data from USCP.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.
