The attacks in Minnesota reflect a worrying trend
Threats are increasing—and state legislators are particularly vulnerable
THE JUSTIFICATIONS vary, but the examples are legion. In December in Florida, local politicians faced threats over housing developments. Police shot a Montanan in March after she brandished a gun at a judge. A police chief in North Carolina retired in May after getting violent threats over the death of a police dog. Threats of political violence are becoming more common. The Capitol Police investigated more than 9,000 made against members of Congress last year, up from under 4,000 in 2017. John Roberts, chief justice of the Supreme Court, noted a similar trend of growing threats to federal judges in his end-of-year report. It is still vanishingly rare, though, that such threats are acted on.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Voting and shooting”
United States
June 21st 2025- Democrats could do a lot better with the power they hold
- Congestion pricing in Manhattan is a predictable success
- The attacks in Minnesota reflect a worrying trend
- The strange history of the tribe courted by Donald Trump
- Our model suggests President Trump is under water in every swing state
- The New York mayor’s race is a study in Democratic Party dysfunction
From the June 21st 2025 edition
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