Intimidation of State and Local Officeholders
Brennan Center for JusticeJan 15
Study: Over 40% of US State Lawmakers Self-Censor Due to Threats
The Facts
A new report released Thursday by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University (NYU) School of Law found that over 40% of state lawmakers revealed having faced threats over the past three years, while up to 20% of local officeholders admitted the same over the past 18 months.
According to the study, which surveyed 350 state legislators and over 1,350 local elected officials, roughly one in 10 state representatives had been threatened by someone with a weapon.
The Spin
Left narrative
Trump's rise to prominence has built an endemic culture of using threats as a censorship tactic. Though this has affected people of varying ideologies, the Trump team has monopolized this strategy and aimed it viciously at liberal women and people of color. Just as legislators pass laws and courts uphold them, Trump's role seems to be to threaten his opponents into submission when he's on the verge of losing his battles.
Right narrative
Blaming Trump is ironic coming from leftists who have been threatening — and in some cases physically attacking — ideas and speech they don't agree with as part of their notorious cancel culture. It's conservatives who have to watch what they say for fear of having their lives and reputations ruined because of their views on politics or religion. Until leftists learn to be more tolerant, this problem will continue.
Nerd narrative
There's a 30% chance that the United States drop below a 7 in the Democracy index by 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.