National

Nation-wide anti-administration demonstrations - known as the "No Kings" protests - are planned for June 14, 2025. Drawing on the latest data and analysis from BDI and our partners, this advisory provides analysis, recommendations, and resources ahead of the protests.

Drawing on media and law enforcement reports, as well as information collected directly by BDI and WSC partners, this advisory provides a summary of recent incidents and identifies recommendations and resources for targeted communities.

This article published on Just Security provides steps communities can take during a period of hostility and elevated threats to public officials.

The latest BDI-CivicPulse survey of 400 local elected officials and 200 school board officials continue to show a high baseline of both hostile experiences and worry about future hostility through the first quarter of 2025, negatively affecting their willingness to take part in key activities like participating in public events. New survey questions also reveal that local officials are seeking expanded resources to mitigate these risks and their impacts.

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.

The number of reported threat and harassment incidents against local officials held steady from April to May, following a spike at the start of the year. BDI’s Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) captured nearly 30 events for the month, bringing the total number of incidents recorded so far in 2025 to more than 200. In addition to community-specific disputes, national issues like immigration policy and LGBTQ+ rights were key drivers of threats and harassment in May.

Drawing on more than 820 survey responses from school board members, almost 40 in-depth interviews with impacted officials, and BDI’s longitudinal dataset of threat and harassment events, our new report presents a full mixed methods analysis of targeted hostility facing local school boards.

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.

Threats and harassment against local officials rose in June. BDI’s Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) recorded 40 incidents for the month, marking an increase of nearly 40% from the past two months. In total, more than 250 incidents have been reported in the first half of 2025, up 9% from the same period in 2024. This upward trend comes as new survey findings show that local officials are seeking additional safety support like enhanced privacy protections and personal security to mitigate the elevated risk of hostility.