The assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk has unleashed a wave of threats against Democratic lawmakers across the country, adding to an already tense atmosphere of political violence.
New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D) and House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski (D) received bomb threats at their homes last Thursday, a day after Kirk’s murder in neighboring Utah. Law enforcement agencies evacuated a Santa Fe school near Wirth’s home.
The same day, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist (D) received a bomb threat. On Friday, Michigan Sen. Jeremy Moss (D) reported what he called a “detailed and specific message” including a bomb threat at his home.
Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner (D), Majority Leader Kayse Jama (D) and President Pro Tem James Manning (D) all received emails claiming bombs had been lodged in their mailboxes.
Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson (D) and Majority Leader Frank Ciccone (D) both received bomb threats last week directed at their homes in East Providence and Providence, respectively.
“Receiving threats is unfortunately par for the course for politicians on both sides of the aisle in our current climate, but truthfully, you never get numb to the fear you experience when someone tells you they want you dead,” Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos (D) told the Providence Journal. “No citizen or activist should ever know that fear.”
Lawmakers in Maryland and Nevada also said they had received threatening communications in the last week. A Texas man was arrested this week for allegedly making terroristic threats against New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said this week that the number of threats “has increased substantially.”
Some Democrats even say they feel unsafe around their own colleagues. In Arizona, Rep. Sarah Liguori (D) emailed fellow lawmakers to appeal for unity and calm. Rep. John Gillette (R) responded by comparing Democrats to the 9/11 hijackers and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II.
“The tone was set by your party; unity is no longer an option,” Gillette wrote to lawmakers.
The threats come in the midst of a moment when political violence is increasingly becoming a part of American life. Kirk’s murder inspired leaders of the white nationalist Proud Boys movement to call for violent responses, according to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, while other arch conservative personalities have called for liberals to be put to death.
The number of actual attacks is on the rise as well. Earlier this year, an arsonist attacked Pennsylvania’s governor’s mansion as Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and his family slept. In June, an assassin murdered former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband and attacked Sen. John Hoffman (D) in his home.
Those attacks followed two attempts on President Trump’s life as he campaigned for election in 2024.
A report by the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University, published Friday, found at least 350 threatening events targeting public officials had taken place this year. The group said the number of threats is expected to rise after Kirk’s murder.