Dear Attorney General Bondi:
 
As the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, which has broad oversight of the Legislative Branch, including the United States Capitol Police (USCP),^[1] we write today on an urgent matter regarding the drastic increase of threats against Members of Congress. We request your assistance with implementing a strategic increase of prosecutorial resources to assist USCP investigators assigned with addressing these threats. 
 
On July 8, 2024, USCP established the Protective Intelligence Operations Center (PIOC) to triage threat investigations because of the heightened caseload of threat cases that Members of Congress face each day. 
 
In 2024, the threat division received 9,474 communications involving "concerning statements or direct threats" against members of Congress, which is nearly three times higher than the number of threats in 2017. And other than 2021, it’s the largest number for a single year on record for USCP. Capitol Police have expanded the technical capacity of their threat investigation unit, added personnel, and committed to hiring additional personnel. 
 
Threats include death threats, swatting, vulgar language, travel to local offices, and, most recently, an armed individual arrested on the Capitol campus. The threats have been made via social media, phone calls, letters, and email. 
 
These threats have been made in the context of recent attempts to gain access to secure parts of the Capitol complex by armed individuals. This January, USCP arrested a man armed with a handgun in the Capitol. Additionally, Members of Congress have been subjected to physical threats in their District offices. In 2023, the late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s staff were assaulted by a violent assailant with a baseball bat searching for the Representative in his District office. 
 
To address these threats, USCP has requested and received assistance from three Special Assistant U.S Attorneys (SAUSAs). In 2024, these SAUSAs secured eight convictions nationwide for threats against Members and other government officials. This is in sharp contrast to the 9,474 known communications involving concerning statements or direct threats to Members. 
 
We are concerned that the current lack of prosecutorial capacity will allow threat behavior to persist unabated because the risk of consequential action is small, in part due to the perceived anonymity of modern communications. We believe that additional resources and increased attention to this issue will help deter future threats. 
 
We request that you, in your capacity as the Attorney General, assign an AUSA or a SAUSA in each of the 94 federal districts to, at least on a part-time basis, investigate and prosecute threats against Members of Congress. 
 
Please contact the Committee on House Administration at 202-225-8281 with any questions. Thank you. 
 
Sincerely,
                                                                       
Bryan Steil                                                     Joseph D. Morelle
Chairman                                                       Ranking Member
Committee on House Administration         Committee on House Administration

[1] Rules of the United States House of Representatives, Rule X, clause 1, (k).