In the News: Little Changing as Threats Against Congressional Staff Accelerate
“Staffers bear the brunt of threats aimed at district offices”
Roll Call
Ryan Tarinelli and Justin Papp
May 29, 2024
Excerpts from the story:
While members of Congress have faced an elevated threat landscape in recent years, their staff at congressional district offices across the country can bear the brunt of the vitriol and face potential danger.
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Capitol Police had recently completed a security assessment on Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerald E. Connolly’s Fairfax office when last May a baseball bat-wielding constituent entered the office in search of the congressman, who was out at an event. Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, who faces charges related to the incident, is accused of assaulting a staffer and an intern.
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“There are hundreds of district offices across the country. Some of them are in federal buildings, and if you’re in a federal building, you’ve got airtight security. You’ve got metal detectors, you can’t bring a weapon. There’s screening. There are cameras,” Connolly said. “But if you’re in a commercial office building, you don’t have any of that. And most of us have offices in commercial office buildings or retail centers.”
Michael Suchecki, spokesperson for the Congressional Progressive Staff Association, said there needs to be an appropriate balance, “where staff can both have their safety and security prioritized without detracting from the critical work they engage in with constituents across the country.”
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Amy Rutkin, who until earlier this year was Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s chief of staff for more than two decades, said she witnessed increasing fear among staff toward the end of her time on the Hill, particularly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Threats are “unfortunately part of the fabric of these jobs now, which makes the long hours and low pay feel even more burdensome,” Rutkin said. “There’s just an elevated awareness that certain things can happen. It’s a very unpleasant and dark side of public service right now.”