The horrible attack to two staffers in the district office of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) was the latest brutal reminder to current or potential public officials that they could become the next victim of political violence.
Although fortunately rare, especially in recent decades, cases of violence against elected officials permeate our political history. Presidents, governors, and local and state officials have, at one time or another, been the target of violent attacks, even assassinations. And violence between members of Congress, including duels and a famous fact where a sitting senator was beaten to within an inch of his life by a representative with a cane, it was once much more common than many realize.
Increasingly, however, it is the individuals surrounding the principals—that is, the anonymous congressional aides—who suffer the vicious and sometimes deadly consequences of political violence for more prominent elected officials, as was the case of thousands of workers during the January 6 storm. of the Capitol. Gabe Zimmerman, a staff member for former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), died in the 2011 shooting in a mall in Tucson; Zack Barth, aide to Roger Williams (R-Texas), he was one of the five people shot in 2017 at a practice for an upcoming congressional baseball game, including then-Republican House Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), spent days in the hospital after an intruder. he fractured his skull with a hammer at the end of 2022, when he realized that the speaker was not at home. And last Monday, two congressional staffers working in a district office — one of them a newly hired intern — were sent to the hospital after being hit with a metal baseball bat by a man who came to the office looking for his boss, Representative Connolly.
It’s one thing, especially in an age of hyper-partisanship, for staff and family members to be on the receiving end of bitter criticism and crude emotional outbursts from those who disagree with any legislator. They know full well it’s part of the job, an unfortunate but accepted trade-off in today’s political climate.
But the prospect of becoming a victim of violence is an unacceptable escalation. It quickly tips the scales away from something to weigh when considering work as an automatic disqualifier.
The job of a congressional staffer is hard and thankless enough. The hours are bad, the pay is worse, and half the country automatically thinks the worst of you. Particularly for young aides at face-to-face events and answering office phones and constituent mail in batches, the relentless negativity that pours into a congressional office quickly saps optimism, energy, and zeal with what do they get to work No wonder turnover in congressional offices is alarmingly high and getting worse.
In many ways, staff working in district offices face even greater threats of violence than their DC counterparts; All congressional buildings on Capitol Hill have magnetometers that scan all visitors and a cadre of Capitol Police officers who monitor all activity in the building. The vast majority of district offices do not offer their employees these protections.
Also, the purpose of a district office is to be accessible to constituents on behalf of the member. Through their constituent work, such as checking for a missing Social Security payment or helping a veteran find their nearest VA hospital, District Office Assistants aim to be a positive focal point for the community and its citizens. That’s why most district offices not only have open-door policies, but ask constituents to come in, meet the staff, and familiarize themselves with the services that full-time staff are ready and willing to provide .
But now, if they didn’t before, every member of the district staff must ask whether the person entering the office has a legitimate need for assistance from Congress or is out to do them harm. And all members will have a lingering concern that their contracted staff will become an acceptable target for attackers whose original target was the legislature. Hearing that his employees were attacked, Rep. Connolly admitted feeling an immediate sense of “guilt”: “It should have been me, not them,” he said.
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The troubling new reality of potential political violence for staff will bring a variety of daunting, yet necessary, changes for district offices and staff. We are likely to see, for example, that open doors are closed by default; more hired guards serving as office greeters; and prior appointment to enter the required offices. Each of them hinders access to elected officials and their services.
But more depressingly, the threat of violence is another reason our best and brightest are fleeing public service at a time when we need all the help we can get.
Casey Burgat is an assistant professor and director of the Legislative Affairs master’s program at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.
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