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Lawmakers Receive Death Threats After Scalise Shooting
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are receiving death threats after the House of Representatives Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot at during a congressional baseball practice Wednesday.
During a security briefing, California lawmaker Nanette Diaz Barragán said Democratic representatives have been receiving threatening calls on their personal mobile phones, with the caller saying, “You guys are next,” and “You Democrats, you Democrats,” Buzzfeed reported. The threats came shortly after Scalise was admitted to the hospital with fatal injuries.
Claudia Tenney, a Republican representative from New York, received an email with the subject line, “One down, 216 to go…” The email further stated: "Did you NOT expect this? When you take away lives of the ordinary people in order to pay off the wealthiest among us, your own lives are forfeit. Certainly, your souls and morality were lost long before. Good riddance.”
The gunman who was responsible for fatally injuring Scalise and wounding three other lawmakers has not been ruled as a part of any organized gang by the FBI. Tim Slater, a special agent of the FBI, said it is still early to state anything affirmatively when asked whether the gunman made an attempt to assassinate Scalise, the New York Times reported. The investigators were “exploring all angles,” he said.
Read: Who's To Blame For Scalise Shooting? Kathy Griffin Is Guilty, Some Twitter Users Say
After the shooting, several lawmakers from both ends of the political aisles came forward and voiced their concerns, which they had apparently raised before the attack too. Republicans and Democrats, including Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Cedric Richmond had raised the topic in front of the House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, a week prior to the Scalise’s shooting.
House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi stated that in the recent years her security concerns have grown considerably. "In more recent years, I have been praying … for our safety. I’m a political target and therefore the target of more threats than anyone, other than the President of the United States," said Pelosi, USA Today reported.
A Capitol Police officer stands guard in front of the Capitol Building after Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in Washington, D.C., June 14, 2017. Photo: Getty Images/Mark Wilson
Although the lawmakers discussed their security concerns with Ryan, he reportedly said that he will not be able to take any action to address the issue.
Read: Why Was Steve Scalise Shot? Possible Motive, His Stance On Gun Rights And Second Amendment
While on one hand, the congressional office budgets are often too low to afford secure spaces for holding official meetings, it was also impractical to assign a security detail to every member of Congress. In most offices where congressional meetings are held rarely, have multiple entry and exit points, and buffer areas between public waiting rooms and back offices, according to the USA Today report.
However, lawmakers believe Scalise's shooting will act as an eye-opener for the need to have increased security outside offices. Sergeant at Arms of the House, Paul Irving, has already begun pushing for a boost of about $2 million in the congressional budget for increased security of the Congress members when meetings are held away from the Capitol in their district offices or elsewhere, Bloomberg reported.
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