Hostility against public officials is on the rise. Data collected by BDI, supported by the Brennan Center for Justice, indicates that threats and harassment against local officeholders increased last year, mirroring trends in national-level data on threats against federal judges and members of Congress. The impact is clear: many officials are withdrawing from civic engagement, avoiding work on controversial issues, and reconsidering public service altogether due to safety concerns.
However, there are steps state and local policy makers can take to push back on these trends.
This policy brief presents two critical recommendations that can advance efforts to mitigate the risk facing local officials: (1) expanding access to funds for personal security in the short term; and (2) investing in independent, sustained threat monitoring systems to inform holistic policy solutions over the long term.