CALIFORNIA, USA — The recent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has lawmakers reflecting on the threats they've received while being in office; with some of those threats coming as recent as last week.
After watching Trump walk away from Saturday's gunfire, Rep. John Duarte (R-Turlock) is now reflecting on his own life as an elected government official.
"Because it went to one of my family members, of course, I was particularly angry when it came in," he said.
He is referring to an email sent on July 11 that said, in part, a bomb was placed at his family ranch. He immediately reported it to the United States Capitol Police.
"We started going to security protocols and checking the property that (threat) was made against," Duarte said.
While the investigation into who sent the email is ongoing, Duarte says no one was hurt and his family is safe. Unfortunately, some of Duarte's colleagues in Congress have endured a similar experience.
"It's a real serious problem. I've had numerous threats. As recently as a few weeks ago, a fellow is in jail now for threats against me and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries," said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Fairfield).
Some lawmakers say this is the new norm.
"I mean, we all get death threats, we all get threats of violence and so forth. And that's unfortunate, as well as our staff," said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Sacramento).
With how often these threats are happening, political analysts say it's only hurting the constituents in the end.
"Members of Congress who are locking their doors instead of keeping their doors wide open, who will only talk to a constituent if there's an appointment made in advance, they are cutting back on events," said political analyst Steve Swatt.
Duarte says he still wants to have productive conversations with his constituents at public events but with extra precautions.
"We'll have security there. They'll do their job. That'll be their job. And, I'll feel safe doing it," he said.
According to the USCP, it has investigated more than 8,000 threat cases in 2023. It's a jump from 7,500 in 2022.
