EXCLUSIVE — House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) said he’s concerned about the uptick in politically motivated violence in recent years and emphasized the need for officials to speak out against the targeting of members and their families.
The comments by Scalise, a victim of political violence himself, having sustained near-fatal injuries after being shot in 2017 by an extremist while practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game, follow the assault of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband, Paul Pelosi, who was hospitalized after a man broke into their house and attacked him with a hammer while yelling, “Where is Nancy?”
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“It’s concerning and alarming, the increased number of threats to members of Congress and their families. You know, we all see it, and the Capitol Police has done a really good job at being aggressive in investigating those threats as they evolve,” Scalise told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
Capitol Police data show that threats to members of Congress have more than doubled over the course of the past five years, with roughly 10,000 threats investigated last year alone.
“We’ve seen arrests made over the years since it’s a trend that I hope reverses, because it’s not healthy for a democracy to have people that think they can settle their scores through political violence,” Scalise said. “It’s not acceptable — we all need to stand up against it and be vocal.”
The threats have been directed at members on both sides of the aisle. Over the summer, a man attempted to stab Rep. Lee Zeldin, New York’s GOP gubernatorial nominee, at a rally, and late last month, a Pennsylvania-based man pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and allegedly impersonated members of the Trump family on social media to raise funds for a fraudulent political organization. Members of the Jan. 6 select committee have been provided security details due to credible threats being launched against them.
While the House sergeant-at-arms launched an initiative to provide House members with a $10,000 budget to ramp up security systems in their homes in July, some members say more actions should be taken to ensure the safety of lawmakers and their families.
Scalise said Congress needs to speak with experts as it weighs what should be done.
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“There are a lot of questions about how to better strengthen the security posture of the Capitol and for members of Congress — it’s an ongoing discussion,” he said.
Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger recently requested more resources in order “to provide additional layers of physical security for Members of Congress,” citing the political climate and “heightened political tension.”
Scalise said he hopes that tensions will cool between parties to a point where they can respectfully disagree on policies.
“We’ve seen through the history of our country there are times when you had very intense differences and divisions within the nation — this is one of those times, and there is a pendulum that swings back and forth, and hopefully, it swings back to a place where we can respect our differences,” he said. “You know, you have passions, and you can fight for the things you believe in, but there should never be an idea that you can settle your scores with violence.”
