National

Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has signed multiple executive orders to restrict immigration and facilitate his plan to carry out “mass deportations.” These orders have included changes to previous guidance that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from conducting raids in “sensitive areas,” such as schools and churches. In response, communities across the country have mobilized in support of immigrant rights and local safety initiatives. These demonstrations and community actions have aimed to push back on dehumanizing rhetoric and misinformation, advocate for immigrant protections, and express opposition to policies that may violate domestic and international law.

Local monitoring is essential for identifying early warning signs. BDI produces regular national situation reports (SitReps) on key risk trends at the national and state level, disseminated to a vetted list of community leaders and organizations.

Local monitoring is essential for identifying early warning signs. BDI produces regular national situation reports (SitReps) on key risk trends at the national and state level, disseminated to a vetted list of community leaders and organizations.

Reported incidents of threats and harassment against local officials returned to a high baseline level in March, following a spike in February driven largely by national political dynamics related to education policy. BDI’s Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) captured more than 40 events for the month, marking a decrease of nearly 35% from February. Nevertheless, hostility continued at similar levels compared to January 2025 and much of 2024 overall. Most incidents in March were motivated by community-specific issues or personal legal disputes, marking a shift back to local dynamics as the leading driver of threats and harassment.

Local monitoring is essential for identifying early warning signs. BDI produces regular national situation reports (SitReps) on key risk trends at the national and state level, disseminated to a vetted list of community leaders and organizations.

A bi-monthly newsletter to share updates from BDI and our network of trainers and practitioners. Tools for non-violently navigating conflict are essential to a healthy democracy. To increase access to these resources, BDI created the Community Safety and De-Escalation Directory - an interactive platform to connect users with a curated network of community safety, de-escalation, and bystander intervention trainers from all around the country.

This brief outlines the latest research on hostility toward local officials and presents two critical recommendations that can advance efforts to mitigate risk: (1) investing in independent, sustained threat monitoring systems to inform holistic policy solutions over the long term; and (2) expanding access to funds for personal security for local officials in the short term. These measures will help ensure that officials — regardless of their independent financial resources — can continue to safely and effectively serve their communities.

Threat and harassment incidents against local officials continued at a lower rate in April, following a spike at the start of the year driven by national political dynamics. BDI’s Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) captured more than 20 events for the month, marking a decrease of over 50% from March and a return to levels recorded during much of 2022. At the same time, multiple high-profile cases of threats and harassment against state and federal officials were reported in April. While these incidents are not captured in the THD, which is focused on local officials, they underscore that public officials at all levels continue to face heightened risk.

The opening phase of the second Trump administration has had wide-ranging effects on the political violence risk environment. Drawing on the latest data and analysis from BDI and our partners, this explainer answers frequently asked questions about the trajectory of current political violence trends and highlights positive steps local leaders are taking to keep their communities safe.

Local monitoring is essential for identifying early warning signs. BDI produces regular national situation reports (SitReps) on key risk trends at the national and state level, disseminated to a vetted list of community leaders and organizations.