Sam Jones

Minnesota lawmakers tap campaign funds to bolster their security - MinnPost Although Congress has boosted the amount of money for members' security, some Minnesota lawmakers are spending more for their safety.

Although Congress has boosted the amount of money provided for members’ security, some Minnesota lawmakers are spending more for their personal safety.

Special Report: Key Political Violence and Resilience Trends From 2025 Using the past year of data from BDI and our partners, this special report identifies 5 key political violence trends that emerged in the United States in 2025, evaluates how these risk factors will e...

As the landscape continues to shift in the run-up to the midterms, we hope this'll be a resource to help readers make sense of the evolving risk environment and prepare for what comes next.

Read the full report and get in touch for tailored support.

3. Expanded access to de-escalation and online safety skills are helping communities navigate risks like doxing and government violence, while growing demand for support poses new challenges for the sector.

2. With cuts to trusted federal resources for violence detection and prevention, monitoring and data-sharing networks at the state, local, and civil society levels are stepping up to fill the gap.

There were also important lessons learned for resilience and response over the course of the year, including:

1. Proactive coordination and communication among community leaders, organizers, and local officials is proving essential for responding to the risk of violence.

Chart showing demonstrations by month

5. Protests increased to their highest level in five years, driven by overwhelmingly peaceful protests against gov violence and unlawful federal actions.

🔺 ACLED recorded almost 20k in 2025, a 77% increase

🔺 Violent or contentious activity was reported at just 0.5%

Chart showing activity involving organized groups with high risk factors for violence by month

4. Activity by organized violent groups declined alongside the rise in gov operations against targeted communities, but they remain capable of mobilization.

🔺 Seeing the admin as an ally on key issues, many made a tactical shift to online activity, focusing on threats and doxing

Map of reported deaths related to federal immigration operations

3. Federal authorities ramped up aggressive deportation operations, fueling rights abuses and raising the risk of violence.

🔺 Immigration agents have opened fire 20 times since the start of last year, killing at least 5 people, according to analysis of Gun Violence Archive data

Chart showing threats against local officials by month

2. Threats and harassment spiked in the aftermath of high-profile attacks, amplifying the chilling effect of political violence.

🔺 The USCP reported a 58% rise in threats against Congress

🔺 BDI tracked a surge in threats against local officials following the Kirk shooting

1. Reported incidents of political violence increased, including multiple high-profile assassinations.

🔺 According to data collected by organizations like START, targeted violence grew by more than 30% from 2024 to 2025

Key Political Violence and Resilience Trends From 2025 The past year saw a dangerous escalation in the political violence risk environment in the United States, including a series of high-profile attacks and the impacts of aggressive federal immigration o...

New report from our team at Princeton's Bridging Divides Initiative identifies 5 key political violence trends that emerged in 2025, evaluates how they'll evolve in 2026, and elevates 3 effective resilience and response strategies to support risk mitigation efforts.

Findings 🧵👇

From Minneapolis to Portland: State Violence and How Communities Are Responding | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice. The United States is seeing an upswing in political violence, including due to increased state abuses. But community safety and de-escalation strategies can be effective.

State violence is escalating in Minnesota and around the U.S. It's critical to support the local leaders and civil society groups standing up to these threats and working to keep their communities safe. Here's just a snapshot of ongoing response efforts from BDI and WSC in @npquarterly.bsky.social.

We have a ton of data on this from the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton. A survey from the fall found that that 43% of local officials said threats and harassment made them less willing to run for re-election: bridgingdivides.princeton.edu/Understandin...

We underestimate how impactful harassment and threats of violence are on politicians. Clear, large uptick in the number of major incumbent politicians not running/retiring specifically due to harassments and threats of violence. The harassers are like 0.1% of the population but hugely impactful.

Five years after January 6, dozens of pardoned insurrectionists have been arrested again At least 33 insurrectionists have been rearrested, charged or sentenced for other crimes since January 6, 2021.

Since January 6, 2021, at least 33 insurrectionists have been rearrested, charged or sentenced for other crimes, ranging from committing child sex crimes and possession of child pornography to sexual assault, rape and illegal possession of weapons with domestic violence convictions.

Issue Brief: Interviews With Local Elected Officials Spotlight Acute Safety Concerns in the Wake of High-Profile Attacks Following the deadly attack on state lawmakers in Minnesota, local officials tell BDI that they are experiencing a high level of fear and emotional strain. They continue to call for short-term mitigat...

"There have been multiple times that I've thought: [our town] is going to get put on the map when somebody comes to kill me."

In the wake of a series of high-profile political violence incidents, new BDI interview research explores how local officials are navigating the elevated risk environment.

What happens when political violence shifts from isolated tragedies to a persistent feature of American civic life?

10 Political Violence Experts on What Comes Next for America Can America escape the spiral of political violence after Charlie Kirk’s killing?

There’s a lot to learn from these 10 experts on political violence.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

How Communities Can Respond to Threats of Political Violence Left unchecked, political violence will continue to pose a significant danger to community safety and the health of America’s democracy.

After the deadly attack on Minnesota state lawmakers in June, I broke down BDI's research on steps communities can take to respond to the risk of political violence for @justsecurity.org. Many of those same lessons apply now. We don't have to accept this climate of hostility as our new normal.

10 Political Violence Experts on What Comes Next for America Can America escape the spiral of political violence after Charlie Kirk’s killing?

Can America escape its spiral of political violence? 10 experts in the US and abroad give their takes on what comes next👇

Michael speaks with Shannon Hiller, Executive Director of the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton, about the alarming rise in threats and harassment against local officials—from school board members to township supervisors.
Hear the #podcast 🎧➡️ https://loom.ly/7l3hQnE

NJ to regulate campaign spending on security as political violence mounts • New Jersey Monitor Political threats & violence are up, so NJ's election watchdog aims to adopt new rules allowing candidates to spend campaign cash on security

NJ to regulate campaign spending on security as political violence mounts newjerseymonitor.com/briefs/nj-to...

Addressing political violence to protect American democracy | Brookings Recent acts of political violence in the U.S. are a threat to democracy, but strategies exist to prevent them while protecting freedoms.

My colleagues @brookings.edu wrote on the rise of political violence in the US

They explain important ways we can prevent rising violence 2 protect the health of our democracy

Read more👇-TN www.brookings.edu/articles/pol...

Addressing political violence to protect American democracy | Brookings Recent acts of political violence in the U.S. are a threat to democracy, but strategies exist to prevent them while protecting freedoms.

Political violence is a threat to the safety & security of Americans & democracy. My @brookings.edu piece addresses the rise of political violence, harassment & intimidation. We recommend tools/strategies to combat, prevent, respond to this growing threat. www.brookings.edu/articles/pol...

The threat of political violence is keeping parents out of elected office Persistent harassment and threats of violence may be impacting who decides to become an elected official or candidate — especially for parents of young children.

Who’s running for office? Amid a rise in threats of political violence and harassment, parents with young kids are increasingly weighing the risks. 19thnews.org/2025/08/pare...

The threat of political violence is keeping parents out of elected office Persistent harassment and threats of violence may be impacting who decides to become an elected official or candidate — especially for parents of young children.

Persistent harassment and threats of violence may be impacting who decides to become an elected official or candidate — especially for parents of young children.

Since COVID, threats to local school officials have nearly tripled, research finds Researchers at Princeton University say some instances corresponded with national attacks on DEI initiatives as well as on LGBTQ+ policies and that the targets held a variety of political views.

"Since COVID, threats to local school officials have nearly tripled, research finds. Cases corresponded with national attacks on DEI initiatives as well as on LGBTQ+ policies."

BDI's new report featured in @npr.org

BDI Releases First Mixed Methods Study of Threats Against Local School Board Officials Insights from over 800 survey responses and nearly 40 in-depth interviews reveal that local school boards are facing high levels of hostility — but also developing effective strategies to mitigate ris...

Read the full report for in-depth analysis and recommendations.

Chart showing that 36% of surveyed school board officials reported experiencing hostility in 2024.

New research from our team at BDI finds that more than 1 in 3 local school board officials experienced hostility last year. Reported cases of threats and harassment targeting school officials increased 170% from 2022 to 2025.

But impacted officials are also developing strategies to mitigate risk.

Since COVID, threats to local school officials have nearly tripled, research finds Researchers at Princeton University say some instances corresponded with national attacks on DEI initiatives as well as on LGBTQ+ policies and that the targets held a variety of political views.

Researchers at Princeton University say some instances corresponded with national attacks on DEI initiatives as well as on LGBTQ+ policies and that the targets held a variety of political views.