Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University

Survey research shows that local elected officials who have experienced any type of hostility – even less intense forms such as insults – are more likely to report worry about potential future hostility, from harassment to threats and physical attacks. Officials who report higher levels of worry are more likely to consider refraining from political activities like running for re-election, working on controversial topics, or participating in public events due to their concerns about hostility. Our findings suggest that efforts to push back on the growing climate of fear and hostility in local government must include interventions that can arrest the corrosive effects of worry at each level of this multi-stage process: 1?? Before an official experiences hostility, to support the development of risk mitigation strategies that can reduce worry. 2?? At the point of initial hostility, to assist with response and interrupt the cycle of experience-to-worry that can have major negative impacts on willingness to take part in political activities. 3?? In the aftermath of a hostile experience, to help mitigate the risk of further hostility and ensure the impacted official feels safe to carry out the duties of their office moving forward. Learn more in our latest survey analysis ? bit.ly/UTHWorry

In today's Democracy Notes Encore: updates from Made By Us's Youth250 Bureau, new research from Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University and CivicPulse, and an intriguing re-imagining of news from Alissa Quart ?? Read on! ??

Incidents of threats and harassment between local officials increased last month, with at least five cases of inter-official hostility reported across four states — more recorded cases than any other month since July 2024. In total, BDI’s ?????????????? ?????? ???????????????????? ?????????????? (??????) captured 30 threat and harassment events targeting local officials in January 2025. The data shows an uptick in hostile incidents carried out by officials against other officials over local community-specific issues, and hostility between colleagues during government meetings also contributed to a rise in in-person threat and harassment events. Overall, hostile activity continued at similar levels in January compared to December, which saw a decline from the surge in threats and harassment around the 2024 election in November and a return to baseline trends recorded in previous years. ?? Learn more: https://bit.ly/THDJan2025 ?? Access the data: bit.ly/BDI-THD ?? Subscribe for updates: bit.ly/BDIsubscribe #data #democracy #localgovernment

Hostility against local elected officials continued at high levels through the end of 2024, new survey results show. In partnership with?CivicPulse, BDI is releasing the?latest update?from our ongoing quarterly survey of local officials on their experiences of threats and harassment. The 10th survey round covers the fourth quarter of 2024 and includes responses from over 400 local elected officials and 200 school board officials, putting the total number of participants across all survey waves at more than 4,000. After an?increase in hostile incidents around the 2024 election, the survey indicates that both hostile experiences and worry about future hostility among local elected officials remained elevated through the end of the year. Threats and harassment continued to have a chilling effect on the functions of local government, with officials reporting particularly high rates of decreased willingness to engage in activities like posting on social media and working on controversial topics. ???????????????????? ???????????? ? Levels of hostility continued to vary across demographics, particularly among age, gender, and minority groups. ? Severe forms of hostility like threats and attacks continued to cut across party lines. ???????????? ?????? ?????? ???????????????????????? ? Nearly 75% of officials reported at least some reduction in willingness to run for re-election or another office, post on social media, work on controversial topics, attend public events, or be in public while not working, up from 66% during the second quarter of the year.? ? Almost 50% of officials reported decreased willingness to work on controversial issues due to concerns about hostility, marking the highest level recorded since the survey began asking about these impacts in 2023.? ? While there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of officials that reported a negative impact on their willingness to take part in public events compared to the third quarter of the year leading up to the election, this marked a return to the high baseline from earlier in 2024. ? More women officials said that they were worried about harassment at the end of 2024, returning to high levels recorded earlier in the year following a decline in the third quarter. ?? Learn more: bit.ly/UTHsurveyQ4 ?? Subscribe for updates: bit.ly/BDIcontact

While mobilization by organized groups with links to political violence — like militias or neo-Nazi organizations — has steadily decreased in the United States in recent years, multiple factors point to a potential reversal of this trend in 2025. First, activity by these groups — including demonstrations, training exercises, and propaganda dissemination — has increasingly focused on immigration. This aligns with the rise in national attention on the new administration’s “mass deportation” plans, and many of these actors have?expressed a willingness to aid in deportation operations. With the White House now?advancing immigration restrictions at a rapid clip, these groups may mobilize to engage in anti-immigrant activity seen to support the administration’s agenda. Second, on the night of his inauguration, President Trump?pardoned or commuted sentences for participants in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, including the leaders of violent groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Prosecutions for January 6 played a significant role in the overall decrease in Proud Boys and Oath Keepers activity since 2021. The pardons, by contrast, signal a return to the more permissive environment established during President Trump’s first term. This move threatens to re-energize these groups, which could result in increased activity beyond anti-immigration mobilization, such as efforts to recruit and spread propaganda during?natural disasters or to harass participants at?LGBTQ+ events. Learn more in our special report ? bit.ly/2024KeyTrends

BDI's ?????????????? ?????? ???????????????????? ?????????????? (??????) is a first-of-its-kind public dataset tracking incidents of hostility against local officials in the United States. The longitudinal event-based data captures the rate, frequency, types, and targets of threats and harassment faced by a wide range of local officials around the country, from elected officials at the municipal, county, and township level to appointed officials and election workers. BDI updates the THD each month to provide users with near-real-time data on the evolving threat landscape and support evidence-based decision-making to protect civic spaces. ?? Access the data: bit.ly/BDI-THD ?? Subscribe for updates: bit.ly/BDIsubscribe #data #democracy #localgovernment

Acts of vigilante violence grew as a proportion of all reported political violence incidents last year. Analysis of?ACLED?data and information gathered through BDI monitoring indicates that vigilante violence — acts of extrajudicial violence perpetrated by unaffiliated individuals or loosely organized groups in response to a perceived crime or social infraction — frequently accounted for the majority of reported political violence events each month in 2024. The primary targets were Black, Jewish, Arab, Muslim, and LGBTQ+ communities. Vigilante violence is likely to continue trending upward in 2025, especially against the backdrop of substantial public support for high-profile vigilante actors, such as?Luigi Mangione and?Daniel Penny, from across the political spectrum. In the immediate future, immigrant groups are at particularly high risk amid an increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric and?calls for “mass deportation.” Proposed?bounty bills, in particular, could embolden private citizens to engage in self-styled enforcement actions targeting immigrants and their allies. Learn more in our special report on key political violence and resilience trends to watch from 2024 ? bit.ly/2024KeyTrends

BDI is an excellent organization to work with. See current openings below.

BDI’s work is made possible by an expert team of research, programs, and operations staff, united by a shared commitment to countering political violence and strengthening democracy. Come join us! Apply for open positions below and complete our?interest form?for alerts about new opportunities. ?? Wisconsin State Lead ?? Library Project Manager ?? Threats and Harassment Dataset (THD) Researcher Learn more and apply ? https://bit.ly/BDIjobs #hiring #data #democracy

According to rigorous data, an increase in threats and harassment against local officials in the U.S. is having a chilling effect on their professional duties and civic engagement. That was last year. Data for this year will surely show that an increase in threats and harassment against federal employees is having a similar chilling effect. May the Force be with us all as we gather the courage necessary to stand up for decency, the rule of law, democracy, and peace. ??????