Threats against Congress spiked in 2025, extending a three-year rise, Capitol Police say
- - Threats against Congress spiked in 2025, extending a three-year rise, Capitol Police say
Raquel Coronell UribeJanuary 28, 2026 at 5:07 AM
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Capitol Police said nearly 15,000 threats were investigated last year. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images) (Andrew Harnik)
The number of threats related to Congress rose for a third consecutive year in 2025 and spiked to its highest level in years, a U.S. Capitol Police report released Tuesday showed.
Capitol Police said it investigated 14,938 cases last year, up from 9,474 cases in 2024.
They attributed the rise in violence in part to “a false sense of anonymity online.”
“Decreasing violent political rhetoric is one of the best ways to decrease the number of threats across the country,” Capitol Police said in a statement.
The annual report measures cases involving “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex.”
Capitol Police investigated 8,008 cases in 2023 and 7,501 the year before that.
The surge in cases comes amid increasing reports of political violence across the country in recent months, including “swatting” incidents and pipe bomb threats, such as the ones against former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., after her split with President Donald Trump last year.
On Tuesday, a man lunged at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and sprayed an unknown substance toward her. Last week, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said he was punched in the face at the Sundance Film Festival by a man who is alleged to have told Frost that Trump would deport him.
Capitol Police, which has formal agreements with law enforcement agencies in states and congressional districts, said the number of agreements tripled in 2025, and they encouraged agencies that don’t yet partner with them to do so.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
