Longtime GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine warned that verbal threats against members of Congress could escalate into real violence

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if a member of Congress is murdered’: Republican Senator Susan Collins fears more threats against lawmakers are turning into violence

  • ‘What started with abusive phone calls is now translating into active threats of violence and real violence,’ longtime Sen. Susan Collins told the NY Times
  • The number of threats against members of Congress has increased tenfold between 2016 and 2021, according to the Capitol Police
  • Some lawmakers have complained that despite rising threats it’s still hard to get adequate security to feel safe for members who are not senior
  • Donald Trump stirred outrage when he posted on Truth Social over the weekend that Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell ‘has a death wish’
  • Meanwhile President Joe Biden has been criticized for calling Trump’s supporters in Congress ‘MAGA extremists’ 

Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins is warning that online and phoned-in verbal attacks on lawmakers could soon translate into dangerous real-world situations, particularly as members of Congress take on more public events in the lead-up to November’s midterm races.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if a senator or House member were killed,’ Collins told the New York Times on Saturday.

‘What started with abusive phone calls is now translating into active threats of violence and real violence.’

Growing political divisions have led to a surge in online confrontations that have enveloped both lawmakers and everyday Americans.

The Department of Homeland Security has sent out multiple bulletins this year alone that warn of increased threats against federal employees and others in the political sphere.

All the while, violent rhetoric is becoming normalized language to invigorate the voter base.

Donald Trump said late last week that Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell ‘has a death wish’ over the Kentucky Republican’s vote to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. 

And Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan, who is running for an open Senate seat in Ohio, said on MSNBC last month that Americans must ‘kill and confront’ the MAGA Republican movement after President Joe Biden angered the GOP by calling Trump’s supporters in Congress ‘extremists.’

Longtime GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine warned that verbal threats against members of Congress could escalate into real violence

Longtime GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine warned that verbal threats against members of Congress could escalate into real violence

Between 2016 and 2021, the number of threats recorded against members of Congress had increased tenfold, according to the Times. 

Some lawmakers are also reportedly shelling out thousands of dollars on security and taking extreme safety measures to cope with the ever-hanging threats to their lives.

Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who is facing a tough re-election race against Republican challenger Herschel Walker this year, reportedly spends more than any other member of Congress on security.

Warnock has paid nearly $900,000 in protection fees since joining Congress after a special election in 2021, the Times’ analysis states.

Next down the line is reportedly Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz – having spent approximately $600,000 in the same period.

The number of threats made against lawmakers has increased 10 times between 2016 and 2021, the year the US Capitol riot took place

The number of threats made against lawmakers has increased 10 times between 2016 and 2021, the year the US Capitol riot took place

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who receives more threats than the majority of her colleagues, blasted the Congressional security system as unfair to more junior members and lawmakers who are not in leadership roles.

‘You are now extra tasked with providing and coming up with your own financial resources for your own safety,’ she told the Times.

She’s spent over $120,000 since 2021 on security, according to the Times, and she claims it took more than two years of leaning on the Capitol Police to get extra protection.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal reportedly had similar struggles to get added protection after a man was arrested who would regularly park his car outside of her house and shout vulgar comments, and reportedly said he would stop if the Washington Democrat killed herself.

Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock reportedly spent nearly $900,000 on security since 2021

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz reportedly spent $600,000 in the same period

Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock (left) and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz (right) are reportedly the two biggest spenders on security in Congress

After his arrest it emerged he was planning to buy a semiautomatic weapon to keep menacing Jayapal until she ‘goes back to India.’ 

The man was eventually let out on bail with GPS monitoring. 

Jayapal told the times, ‘It took an enormous amount of pressure for me to feel like I was getting attention from Capitol Police.’

And in August, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home was swatted multiple times by apparent prank callers.

A person who claimed to be calling from Greene’s house phoned 9-1-1 and told emergency responders that someone was ‘shot multiple times’ there because they were ‘upset about her views on transgender rights,’ according to the police report obtained by DailyMail.com.

The police report states that the person told officers they were linked to a nefarious website ‘that supports cyberstalking’ known as Kiwi Farms.’

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