Being the president of the United States may come with inherent risks to life and limb. But what if you’re the district court judge in a county judge in New Mexico or a school board member in suburban Virginia? Political violence may have historically been reserved for the most prominent public officials, but in recent years, threats have been documented across all facets of government. There have been three assassination attempts on President Donald Trump’s life since 2024. This month, Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan requested more funding for the court’s security, with Kagan noting during congressional testimony that the court’s police anticipate a 38% increase in violent threats this year. That follows a 28% increase in 2025, she said.
Those data points are certainly indicative of a trend. But getting a handle on whether this latest wave of threats against public officials is historically anomalous is challenging, not least because perceptions of what constitutes threatening behavior has evolved, said Kevin Drakulich, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern, who studies the politics of crime.
