Threats against federal officials surged in 2024, Capitol police report shows

A report produced by federal investigators with the U.S. Capitol Police revealed the number of investigations into threats against Congress and the Capitol complex surged to the second-highest number on record in 2024, amid a toxic and menacing moment in American politics.

The agency’s threat division investigated 9,474 “concerning statements or direct threats” against members of Congress in 2024, a sharp increase from the 8,008 cases investigated in 2023. The 2024 number is nearly three times higher than the number of threats investigated in 2017. And other than 2021, it the largest number for a single year on record for the U.S. Capitol Police.

A CBS News review of the range of threat cases investigated and prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department shows a range of crimes and finds the cases span different states and regions.

In one recent case, a man in the San Jose, California, area is accused of using Instagram in early 2024 to send a message to a Florida legislator saying “I’m gonna bring a gun to ur office tomorrow and shoot u and ur staff.”

Read more: CBS News