Rising Threats to Public Officials: A Review of 10 Years of Federal Data

Authors

Pete Simi, Chapman UniversityFollow
Gina Ligon, University of Nebraska Omaha
Seamus Hughes, National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center
Natalie Standridge, University of Delaware

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2024

Abstract

A review of federal charges for the past decade highlights that the number of threats to public officials is growing. While 2013-2016 had an average of 38 federal charges per year, that number sharply increased to an average of 62 charges per year between 2017-2022. Across the time series, ideologically motivated threats, on average, accounted for almost half of the cases, and the portion steadily increased year over year. A preliminary review of cases from 2023 and 2024 shows that the number of federal prosecutions is on pace to hit new record highs. The rising threat level may produce significant consequences for the U.S. democratic system of governance.

Comments

This article was originally published in CTC Sentinel, volume 17, issue 5, in 2024.

Recommended Citation

Simi, P., Ligon, G., Hughes, S., & Standridge, N. (2024, May). Rising threats to public officials: A review of 10 years of federal data. CTC Sentinel, 17(5), 20-27. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/rising-threats-to-public-officials-a-review-of-10-years-of-federal-data/

Copyright

The authors