Report

The post-election to inauguration period—the 11 weeks from Wednesday November 4, 2020 to Wednesday January 20, 2021—is a unique period of the US electoral calendar. Data on political mobilization and violence from this period tell us something both about what we might expect in the post-election period of future elections, and also offer a first glimpse of what we might see in terms of more immediate political violence in post-Trump America. January 6 was the highest-profile act of political violence in this period, a confluence of violence and an attack on our democratic system. By contextualizing it within broader trends of political mobilization during the election season, and especially post-election period, the data demonstrate how key elements of January 6 were patterns of behavior established well before the date: the timing, the topic, the location, and the increased presence of unlawful paramilitary and armed actors were all trends of political mobilization that foreshadowed the insurrection. The data also reveal, however, that other events could trigger contentious or violent behavior in the more immediate future.

This report offers preliminary insights and reflections on the experiences of local municipal officials experiencing threats and harassment, in their own words, through conversations with 30 elected officials from across a broad range of locations, demographics, and ideologies.

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.

Using the past year of data from BDI and our partners, this special report identifies 5 key political violence trends that emerged in the United States in 2024, evaluates how these risk factors will evolve in 2025, and elevates 3 effective resilience and response strategies that can inform mitigation efforts in the coming months.

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.