Liam Conner
Now in his 12th year as a U.S. House aide, Mitchell Rivard acknowledges that he is increasingly concerned about harassment and threats against his colleagues — much more so than in the past.
Rivard, chief of staff to Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, said some of the calls made to his congressional office are sometimes so intimidating and threatening that he tries to intervene to spare junior staffers the callers’ hostility.
He said he now advises his staff to transfer these calls to his cellphone and forward any threatening messages to him.
“If they are raising their voices, using inappropriate language or if they are making you uncomfortable, please defer directly to me,” Rivard told CBS News he told his colleagues.
Rivard says he and a group of his top House aides have held meetings about how to deal with the toxic atmosphere of this political moment, which has seen an increase in the number of threats against members of Congress and their offices.
“The atmosphere in Congress wasn’t amazing when Congressman Kildee got here, but it certainly hasn’t gotten any better,” Rivard said. “When it comes to safety and security, I have to think constantly and often much harder than ever before.”
Provided by Mitchell Rivard
A survey of dozens of top congressional advisors conducted by the nonprofit Congressional Management Foundation reveals that a large majority are feeling “anxiety and/or fear” about the safety of working their jobs and concerns about threats against members of Congress during events and public appearances.
The survey, conducted by 138 senior congressional aides, showed that a higher percentage of aides with longer tenures and female staffers were more likely to acknowledge security fears because of their jobs. Among the report’s findings: 70% of employees said they had received “direct insulting or threatening messages or communications” while at work. Nearly three in four Senate staffers said they frequently felt anxiety about the safety of members of Congress.
And 38% of longtime aides — including women and those who have worked in congressional offices for more than 11 years — question whether they should leave their jobs now due to security concerns.
The foundation’s study found that Democratic respondents were more likely to report anxieties than Republicans, although incidents of harassment and threatening messages were widely reported by employees of both parties.
“January 6 was still looming large in many people’s minds,” said Bradley Fitch, president of the Congressional Management Foundation and a former congressional aide. “Death threats coming into offices have not decreased,” Fitch said. “This is a disturbing trend. I was working with some interns last week and it was shocking to me the number of death threats they received.”
“The front door opened…”
Last week, a Florida man pleaded guilty to a federal charge of making telephone threats against Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and his children. According to a signed plea agreementMichael Shapiro acknowledged calling Swalwell’s office and leaving a message that said, “I’m going to kill your kids, you son of a bitch. I’m going to kill your kids.”
Prosecutors and defense attorneys noted Shapiro’s claim that he was angry with Swalwell and intoxicated when he left the message, according to the plea agreement.
“When an audio recording of a threatening message left by the Congressional office was played, the defendant stated, ‘I don’t know what to tell you, he sounds like a drunk man.’”
Threatening behavior is not limited to phone calls or trolling on social media. In May 2023, Xuan Kha Tran Pham, 50, allegedly wielded a baseball bat and attacked employees in the Fairfax, Virginia, office of Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly. An FBI affidavit said Pham demanded to speak to Connolly, a former congressman from Northern Virginia.
An employee was training a new intern in administrative tasks and “[s]Suddenly, the front door opened and Pham, wielding a baseball bat, charged at it,” the affidavit said. “Using the bat, Pham struck (the victim) in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.”
Pham has not filed a lawsuit in his federal case, which has been pending in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, since mid-May, according to a review of the court’s docket. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to say why the case is on hold.
Not all recent attacks against Congress or staff have political overtones. Kendrid Hamlin, 27, will be imprisoned in Pennsylvania until April 2025 for assaulting Representative Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat attacked in her Capitol building in February 2023.
Hamlin arrested and punched Craig in the elevator at Craig’s apartment complex and tried to enter Craig’s apartment, according to court documents. She escaped after throwing hot coffee at Hamlin and running out of the elevator at the next stop.
Although Hamlin pleaded guilty, Craig’s letter to the court during a sentencing hearing highlighted the ongoing pain and recovery from the attack.
“He grabbed my neck and threw me against the steel wall,” she wrote. “He punched me in the face.”
Craig also said that she has since been the target of death threats and doxing amid media attention over the attack. She wrote that her “mental and emotional recovery” is ongoing.
“Heated political rhetoric” that is “unprecedented and alarming”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger will testify this week at a Senate hearing to argue for 2025 funding for the department’s security initiatives. He warned of growing threats against lawmakers at a House hearing last month.
“Our country is in the midst of a historic surge in threats that is inflamed by the current climate of heated political rhetoric; it is both unprecedented and alarming,” he said at the House hearing. “Over the past year, we have seen a dangerous increase in acts of violence against members of Congress, their families and staff.”
Three federal prosecutors have been assigned to help the Capitol Police handle cases involving threats. They will be based in Tampa, San Jose, California and Washington, DC. The prosecutors bring and will further develop experience in handling threats against federal authorities.
Rep. David Valadao, a Cailfornia Republican who recently took over as chairman of a House appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Capitol Police, told CBS News that he recently met with the chief of the Capitol Police and the sergeant at arms of the Chamber to talk about the safety of members and their families in their hometowns.
“I think most members of Congress have had experiences – in a negative way – when it comes to threats and things like that,” Valadão said.
“Security issues are relevant” for employees considering continuing to work in Congress
Fitch said incidents of harassment and intimidation risk increasing friction among congressional aides.
“Capitol is a great job for a lot of people, but clearly the mental pressure and mental well-being issues are unfortunate,” he said. “Security issues are relevant to people when they consider whether they want to keep their jobs in Congress.”
Officials organized a trauma and support group that met regularly in the months after the Jan. 6 Capitol siege. An organizer said the group recently stopped its formal meetings but has made progress in responding to the trauma and fear suffered after the attack.
Another founder said, “It helped us connect to talk about it…to share our experiences and compare.”
Rivard said congressional staffers are facing more pressure as their workloads increase and concerns about threats increase. He helps operate an association of congressional chiefs of staff to exchange ideas about how to respond to tensions: “We try to bring people together to hopefully make this place work in these very partisan times.”
Scott MacFarlane
