Lawmakers demand more security amid rise in assassination attempts

Members of Congress have increased funding for their own personal security expenses amid a chilling rise in attacks on lawmakers in recent months. A string of politically-charged threats and attacks in recent months have legislators on edge and fearing for their safety.

A source on the House Administration Committee confirmed to the Daily Mail that there has been an increase to the resources available to members to fund security enhancements ahead of the August recess when lawmakers return to their districts and states to meet with constituents. This pilot program includes $20,000 for a residential security program for each member, up from $10,000, to allow them to install a comprehensive suite of security equipment at their residences, according to a document shared with the Daily Mail.

Additionally, the document states that lawmakers will be provided $5,000 a month for personal security measures, a sizable increase from just $150. The cash for the security programs is coming from the chief law enforcement and protocol officer of the House, the House Sergeant at Arms (HSAA). The $5,000 stipend is already in place but expires at the end of FY2025 and would need a vote to be renewed. The $20,000 residential program does not have to be voted on again and is a 'lifetime' amount, the source confirmed.

Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, posted earlier this summer about being targeted in an antisemitic attack while driving. The individual, who drove Miller off the road while waving a Palestinian flag, later turned himself into authorities. 'The deranged hatred in this country has gotten out of control,' Miller wrote on X in June around the time of the attack. 'Today I was run off the road in Rocky River, and the life of me and my family was threatened by a person who proceeded to show a Palestinian flag before taking off.'

Miller later announced that he asked the Capitol Police to investigate. The incident is just one of the thousands of threats that Capitol Police deal with annually, and members have asked congressional leadership to make a plan. Democrat Congressman Jared Moskowitz was the target of a gunman arrested last year, who lived under ten miles away from his Florida home.

'Someone’s gonna get killed here. It almost was me,' Moskowitz told the Wall Street Journal. The additional funds couldn't be coming at a better time. The campaign office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was vandalized with red paint resembling blood last week.

A disturbing video made its rounds on X of the congresswoman's Bronx campaign headquarters being vandalized in red paint. A note was also attached to the front gate reading 'AOC Funds Genocide in Gaza .' The glass directly covering photograph of the congresswoman's face was entirely obscured by red paint as well. The unhinged action came days after AOC voted against an amendment proposed by MAGA Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to cut funding to Israel 's 'golden dome' air defense systems by $500 million.

Members of Congress from both parties have been threatened in recent weeks. Florida Republican Kat Cammack shared last month that her district office had to be evacuated due to death threats she received following a Wall Street Journal story that detailed her experiences with an ectopic pregnancy last year. Cammack, 37, is currently pregnant and expecting her first child in mid-August.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the congresswoman spoke of 'imminent death threats against me, my unborn child, my family and my staff' based on her revealing her story about a 'nonviable pregnancy with no heartbeat.' The threats to Cammack came just over a week after a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were assassinated at their home by a gunman.

Melissa Hortman, a Democratic former Speaker of the Minnesota House, and her husband were killed after the assailant pretended to be a cop at their front door. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was also the target of an arson attack in April when a man set fire to the governor's residence.