A review of records from 2024 through August 2026 documents threats reaching elected officials at every level of government—and prompting some to change routines, move homes or take steps to protect their families. The New York Times review, based on public-records requests, court documents and correspondence with officials and their staff, found that at least 44 governors, 70 senators and 185 House members faced violent threats. More than half of the country’s secretaries of state reported threats of violence.
Those figures describe the review’s findings, not a single standardized national tally. The investigation also found threats directed at relatives, including children, and reported that some officials altered commutes, moved children to new schools or limited everyday activities. The records reviewed do not establish that every threat was prosecuted, or provide a common measure of the risk faced by each officeholder.
Federal counts track a changing workload
The U.S. Capitol Police investigated 9,474 concerning statements and direct threats against members of Congress, their families and staff in 2024, compared with 3,939 cases evaluated in 2017. The department’s wording matters: the 2024 tally includes concerning statements as well as direct threats, and is a measure of its assessment workload, not a count of threats proven criminal. The Capitol Police describes the category.
A separate measure illustrates the distinction between threat reports and completed attacks. On June 14, 2025, Minnesota Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed, and Senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot at their homes. The Justice Department said a federal complaint charged Vance Boelter in connection with the killings and shootings; the allegations have not been proven in court. That attack is a grave example, but by itself does not establish a broader frequency trend.
Prosecution totals do not explain the volume
The Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force briefing said that, by February 6, 2025, it had charged four federal cases and joined another case charged before the task force was established; the briefing also noted state prosecutions. These case figures cover a different period and measure than the Capitol Police workload, so they should not be treated as a direct comparison. The department’s briefing does not explain why prosecutions are fewer than reported threat incidents.
The legal threshold is also distinct from whether a message is alarming. In Counterman v. Colorado, decided in 2023, the Supreme Court held that a true-threat prosecution requires proof that the defendant had some subjective understanding of the communication’s threatening nature; recklessness is sufficient. That ruling supplies a constitutional standard, not an explanation for the prosecution figures in the current review.
Taken together, the findings point to two different pressures: security agencies must assess large volumes of communications, while officials and their families may make consequential changes in response to specific threats. The available counts use different definitions and do not show how many incidents led to charges, how many were substantiated, or whether any particular protective measure reduced the danger.
