Shifts and New Developments

Incidents of threats and harassment between officials increased last month, with at least five cases of inter-official hostility reported across four states — more recorded cases than any other month since July 2024. In Iowa, for example, an elected official made violent threats against two colleagues over a decision about chair appointments for the local government. In Illinois, an official issued threats to a colleague during a debate on local government procedure. 

These events are part of an ongoing year-to-year trend of increased targeting of local officials by other local officials: the THD recorded 25 events of local inter-official hostility in 2024, a 92% rise from 13 in 2023, and a 300% rise from six in 2022. Local officials who have participated in BDI’s interview research consistently identify peer support networks with other local officials as a critical part of their response strategies to navigate hostile experiences. The rise in inter-official hostility could jeopardize these relationships. While political polarization may be contributing to heightened tension — CivicPulse and the Carnegie Corporation of New York found that 23% of local officials surveyed reported that political polarization has negatively affected their relationships with colleagues — survey findings from that same research indicated that most respondents still maintain productive relationships across partisan lines and have so far avoided some of the worst impacts of national-level political polarization. Ensuring that threats and harassment within local government do not become further normalized will be important for heading off a continued rise in inter-official hostility. 

In-person targeting also rose in January, accounting for approximately 30% of all reported threat or harassment incidents for the month – up from 17% in December (see blue in graph below). The increase marks a return to baseline levels from 2024, following a decline in December. Overall, in-person targeting accounted for 31% of events recorded for the year, compared to 61% involving physically removed methods and 8% involving unknown methods. The increase in inter-official hostility noted above, along with incidents targeting judicial officials during court proceedings, contributed to the trend.

Despite the rise in in-person targeting, the majority of events – at 53% – still involved physically removed methods, such as phone calls and social media, last month (in orange above). The anonymity potentially afforded by these methods creates challenges for accountability that can fuel further hostility. The online environment, in particular, may only become more hostile amid the re-platforming of previously banned actors and the loosening of safeguards against harmful content. 

• This climate is already impacting civic engagement: according to the latest results from the BDI-CivicPulse survey, 61% of local elected officials reported reduced willingness to post on social media in the fourth quarter of 2024, up from 55% in the first quarter of the year. Such shifts in behavior limit opportunities for public interaction and constituent access. Many officials attribute this reluctance to the toxic discourse and dis/misinformation prevalent online, with one official recommending to their colleagues dealing with hostility and professional conflict: “Don’t post on social media—that’s the first thing.”

Continuing Trends

Most incidents in January were driven by local or community-specific issues for the second straight month, marking a return to pre-election trends that began in December. Approximately 70% of incidents last month were driven by community-specific topics (in blue below) or personal legal disputes (in red below). Multiple incidents were linked to local infrastructure topics, such as water, waste, and public space. For example, in Minnesota, officials were targeted over a park ordinance affecting the unhoused. 

While community-specific drivers motivated most targeting, the interplay between local and national political dynamics continued to fuel hostility as well. For example, a California official received death threats after voting against local law enforcement collaboration with ICE. National figures and events, including a recent controversial gesture — which many have seen as an apparent Nazi salute — by Elon Musk inspired copycat incidents that sparked hostility against local officials. Toward the end of the month, a local official in Pennsylvania faced targeted harassment for posting a video online mimicking Musk, for example, ultimately leading to their resignation. Threats and harassment generated by this national-local dynamic can have direct impacts on how officials make policy in their communities. The latest BDI-CivicPulse survey results find that nearly half – 48% – of local elected officials reported decreased willingness to work on controversial issues due to concerns about hostility during the fourth quarter of 2024, marking the highest level recorded since the survey began asking about these impacts in 2023.

BDI will continue to update the THD each month to provide the public with near-real-time data on the evolving threat and harassment landscape in 2025, to support evidence-based decision-making to protect civic spaces. To download the dataset, please complete our access form.