US elected officials face wave of violent threats prompting calls for security
A fresh wave of violent threats and incidents targeting elected officials broke out in the US this week, prompting more urgent calls for increased security measures just days after the killing of a Minnesota state legislator and the shooting of another.
Amid a series of attacks involving federal and local officials, the latest incidents included death threats against Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayoral candidate, a purported road rage attack on Max Miller, the Ohio congressman, and an alleged kidnapping attempt targeting Paul Young, the mayor of Memphis.
The New York police department (NYPD) hate crimes task force is investigating multiple death threats against Mamdani, a Muslim democratic socialist candidate in the final stretch of his campaign and endorsed by national figures such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The intimidation included threats to blow up his car and Islamophobic voicemails left at Mamdani's office in the city's Queens borough.
'The violent and specific language of what appears to be a repeat caller is alarming and we are taking every precaution,' his campaign said Thursday, blaming the threats on 'dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric designed to stoke division and hate'.
Miller contacted the US Capitol Police after being 'run off the road' by a man displaying a Palestinian flag who allegedly yelled 'death to Israel'. Miller, who is Jewish and on the US Holocaust Memorial Council, said the incident occurred while driving in his congressional district and that he knows the identity of his alleged assailant, who also threatened to kill his family.
Early on Friday afternoon, a man was arrested in connection with the incident.
The suspect was named as Feras Hamdan, 36, of Westlake, near Cleveland, and authorities said he turned himself in to police and is due to appear in court, according to local media reports.
Meanwhile, Memphis police arrested 25-year-old Trenton Abston on charges including stalking and attempted kidnapping after he allegedly scaled a wall at Young's residence in Tennessee with what police described as a 'nervous demeanor'. Officers recovered 'a taser, gloves, rope and duct tape' from the suspect's vehicle.
The string of incidents came just days after the killing of Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota Democratic state representative, and her husband Mark, with John Hoffman, a state senator, and his wife seriously wounded in a separate attack by the same gunman last Saturday as anti-Trump 'No Kings' protests were getting underway for millions across the country. The suspect, Vance Boelter, 57, was captured after a large manhunt and faces murder charges, amid reports that he is an extremist and was pro-Trump and anti-abortion.
The discovery of a hit list containing 'dozens and dozens' of Democratic politicians' names in Boelter's car has sent new shockwaves through the political community. Hillary Scholten, a member of Congress from Michigan, cancelled a public town hall, citing safety concerns.
The escalating threats have left congressmembers from both parties demanding additional security funding and enhanced protection measures in recent days, as fears grow that political violence is becoming normalized across American politics. The Capitol Police requested nearly $1bn in funding for next year, while Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, posted that 'the violence and threats against elected officials has drastically increased' and called for more money to protect lawmakers.
Capitol Police investigated 9,474 threats to lawmakers and their families last year, an increase of nearly 1,500 compared with 2023, which have escalated over the last five years but peaked in 2021. Only eight convictions were made over the threats in 2024, according to a bipartisan letter from Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin representative, and Joseph Morelle, a New York representative, sent Tuesday to the Department of Justice.
Mike Johnson linked the violence to broader political rhetoric. 'What happened to Max [Miller] this morning is yet another outrageous example of unhinged rhetoric inspiring unstable people to threaten and attack elected officials,' the House speaker said. 'We must turn down the temperature in this country.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Trump launches intriguing new call to arms video to pass massive tax cuts in his 'big beautiful bill'
The White House drafted several members of Congress to help sell the president's 'Big Beautiful Bill' in a new video, as the deadline to pass it grows closer. The video, provided exclusively to the Daily Mail offers a window into the White House effort to move the bill through Congress by July 4th for the president to sign. Members of Congress were drafted by the president's team at the White House Congressional picnic to speak in support of the bill, highlighting why they were supporting the president's efforts. Sens. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania were featured in the video, as well as Reps. Chuck Fleischmann, Diana Harshbarger, Erin Houchin, and Anna Paulina Luna. The Republicans touted the bill's efforts to prevent the 'largest tax increase in history,' by extending expiring rate hikes, securing funding for border security, energy development, and tax relief, 'This is a bill for working families, working Americans,' Houchin said. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, touted the expansion of the child tax credit and savings accounts for every new child in the United States and ending tax on tips. 'This is a net positive for America,' she said. President Trump urged the Senate to keep working on the bill during his speech at the picnic. 'We're shooting for the 4th of July,' he told members of Congress. 'I think it's going to be the most important piece of legislation that our country has passed in many, many years.' The bill passed the House with a slim Republican majority vote of 215-214 and now is working its way through the Senate. Despite pressure from the president, some Republican senators are opposed to the measure, warning that it spends too much money and adds to the deficit. Sen. Rand Paul signaled his opposition to the bill telling Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in a recent he would need more negotiations before he was willing to vote for it. 'Right now they are not negotiating with me, because they don't think they need me, so I will not be the deciding vote. The bill will not fail because of me,' he said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune can lose four Republican votes to pass the bill, provided that Vice President JD Vance can help it pass by breaking a tie. After Paul vocally criticized the bill he said he was 'uninvited' from the White House picnic, telling reporters he felt the move was 'incredibly petty.' Trump re-extended the invitation to the Senator and his family on social media. 'Of course Senator Rand Paul and his beautiful wife and family are invited to the BIG White House Party tonight,' Trump wrote, describing Paul as 'the toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate.' The president's signature bill struggled out of the gate to win support, especially after billionaire Elon Musk criticized the bill as a 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill' that was 'a disgusting abomination.' Republicans defended the measure, arguing that the tax cuts in the bill would help boost revenues for the treasury through economic growth. Congressional Democrats remain universally opposed to the legislation.
Reuters
29 minutes ago
- Reuters
FCC orders review of 'Cyber Trust Mark' program over China ties
June 20 (Reuters) - Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr said on Friday he had ordered a review of the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program over "potentially concerning ties to the government of China." Carr said the review was being carried out by the FCC's Council on National Security. He did not provide details. The review was earlier reported by Fox News, opens new tab.
Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Florida lawmaker makes xenophobic comment to Muslim mayoral candidate
A Florida congressman gave a xenophobic analysis of the New York City mayor's race. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) came out on Friday guns-blazing against Democratic New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. The lawmaker used the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict to compare Mamdani's potential future leadership style to that of Iran 's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his predecessor. Mamdani, a rising star in New York City politics, is Muslim and a pro-Palestinian progressive. The Queens politician is running to be the next NYC mayor against incumbent Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as well as other lesser known candidates like the city's Comptroller Brad Lander and New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Fine faced backlash on X from those claiming his comments were anti-Muslim. 'You're right, everyone needs to submit to Christianity and accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior,' one social media user sarcastically quipped. Another sarcastic commenter wrote: 'Agreed. We won't allow any Muslim run any office.' One said that Mamdani is such a flawless candidate that his critics are resorting to 'Islamaphobic retardness.' 'This is bigoted and wholly detached from reality,' wrote an X account on a more serious note. Another user suggested that Fine was in the pocket of the pro-Israel lobby and asked X's Artificial Intelligence Grok to detail contributions made to the Florida lawmaker's campaign from such groups. It revealed that Fine received a combined more than $400,000 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and NORPAC. The comments from Fine come amid a rise in anti-Semitic sentiment in the U.S. with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists operating as the de facto government in the Palestinian stronghold of Gaza. And now, Israel is also embroiled in exchanging missile attacks with Iran. On June 12, Israel launched its first barrage against Iran targeting nuclear facilities and military infrastructure and leaders to prevent Tehran from gaining nuclear weapon capabilities. President Donald Trump on Thursday gave himself two weeks to decide whether the U.S. would back Israel and also strike against Iran. Republican lawmakers are split over whether the U.S. should back its ally or stay out of the conflict – with some warning of mutually assured nuclear annihilation.
