Report: Responding to Threats and Harassment Against Local Government - How are officials mitigating risk, and what can we do to suppor them?
Over the past two years, BDI has conducted interviews with more than 150 local elected officials to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of threats and harassment on local government. These conversations have painted a concerning picture of hostility at the local level, but they have also revealed the wide array of tools officials are leveraging to respond to threats and harassment. Analyzing the variety of risk mitigation strategies surfaced throughout the interview research, this report breaks down five key response types that were consistently highlighted by officials at the frontlines of local government: (1) Individual strategies, (2) Peer support, (3) Connections with town administrators and service providers, (4) Official procedures and community outreach approaches, and (5) Legal and security options.
Mitigating Threats Against School Board Officials: Mixed Methods Research to Understand and Respond to Rising Hostility - July 11, 2025
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.
Discussion Paper: Understanding How the Community Safety and De-Escalation Ecosystem Is Responding to Political Violence Risk
Drawing on interviews with more than 30 practitioners and researchers conducted in 2025, this discussion paper analyzes new qualitative data on the community safety and de-escalation ecosystem through a field-building framework.