GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — When protest turned to rage on Jan. 6th, and the world watched as scores of citizens plundered through halls and offices of the U.S. Capitol, the threat for many who work there has not stopped.
In a recent hearing, Capitol Police Inspector General Michael Bolton testified that death threats have more than doubled since the insurrection.
“Both Democrats and Republicans have seen a significant increase in death threats coming into their offices and those threats are being fielded by Congressional staff,” said Brad Fitch, president and CEO of a nonpartisan, non-profit called Congressional Management Foundation, which works with constituents to build better knowledge and relationships with Congressional offices.
Fitch had heard enough. Enough data on death threats and enough concerns from staffers whom he speaks to regularly. So, he wrote his concerns directly to the public, in an op-ed published in the Star Tribune, among other newspapers.
“We knew that these threats, these emails, and these phone calls aren't being fielded by members of Congress,” said Fitch. “They don't answer their own phones. They are being fielded by staff, often in their own home, because everyone is working remotely. So we knew this had been taking a toll on Congressional staff and we wanted to raise awareness. Often they may be the youngest people in the staff because those are the people who answer the phones. It's the 23 year-old right out of college who has minimal training on how to deal with erratic, angry, racist terrible language that's coming in over these phone lines.”
His organization took a survey among a sample of Congressional staffers a few weeks ago, asking if they had received insults or threatening messages recently. More than three-quarters said ‘yes’.
Fitch suggests these two changes at the Capitol: First, have someone on deck in Congressional offices so if a death threat to the staffer, their family or their boss occurs, they can have a small break before getting back to work.
Second, switch to recorded messages for a bit. This way calls can be returned and threats can be documented.
And for any Minnesota constituent feeling angry at their Congress members, here’s Fitch’s advice about addressing that lawmaker’s office.
“We recognize everyone has a First Amendment right to petition the government for addressing grievances. That's in the First Amendment. You have free speech. You have the right to do that. Yelling racist invectives at an intern answering the phone really doesn't fall into that Madisonian category that we envision when we created the First Amendment. It's just not necessary. It's also not very effective. You might feel good at the end, but if you do lodge a death threat with a member of Congress, know that it's going to be investigated, and that it is a crime.”