Health scares and violent threats highlight the dangers of law enforcement

Members of Congress are at risk. They are not great men and women. They are flesh and blood like everyone else.

A series of unrelated events in recent days have spoken of the dangers of those working on Capitol Hill as health scares have affected three prominent Congressional figures.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., collapsed during the Senate’s weekly luncheon last week. DC Fire and Rescue arrived at the Capitol to check on the GOP leader after he cut his face and sprained his wrist. He was later seen wearing a metal bracelet on his arm that fell on his hand and thumb. At first he was “opened to continue his routine.” However, McConnell did not appear at the Capitol later in the week and his office said he was working from home.

He suffered a severe stroke last year after falling in a hotel and spent two months outside. McConnell also held several news conferences – in Washington and in Kentucky. He fell at his home in 2019, breaking his shoulder.

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McConnell, 83, is leaving his post as the top Republican in the Senate in early January, but will remain in the chamber. McConnell is the longest-serving leader of any party in Senate history.

McConnell did not appear at what is likely to be the final Senate GOP leadership news conference of the year on Tuesday. He also did not attend an event with other top bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leaders to light the Capitol menorah for Hanukkah.

McConnell isn’t the only high-profile lawmaker to stumble recently.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has been hospitalized in Germany after a fall that required a hip replacement. He was there with other lawmakers for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

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“I was right next to him,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. “She likes to wear high heels. Very high. She was on one of her last steps on this marble staircase without metal, and she lost her footing and fell down.”

McCaul later said he spoke with Pelosi on the phone.

“He had a lot of energy. He was smart,” McCaul said of the former Speaker.

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks during Nancy Pelosi’s interview with Katie Couric on 92NY on October 24, 2024 in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

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Retired Rear Admiral Barry Black is not a senator, but frankly, his commanding, booming bass is better known than most senators’ voices. Always sporting his signature tie, Black has served as Senate Chaplain since 2003. He had an underlying hematoma and bleeding on the brain last week and has been hospitalized.

“Chaplain Black is one of the most likable people in the entire Senate. Every day we go into session, he is always there to start us with a prayer, and give us his deep sense of wisdom, kindness, and eloquence,” said the Senate Majority. Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y.

The only thing louder than the powerful voice of Black is his words. Black artfully weaves friendly, pastoral advice into his daily appeal. He prayed that senators would “not allow fatigue or hesitation to jeopardize friendship” in 2019 ahead of President-elect Trump’s first impeachment trial.

Pelosi was in Luxembourg on Friday with a bipartisan Congressional delegation “to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge,” a spokeswoman said. (Grand Ducal Court of Luxembourg)

During the 2013 government shutdown, Black leaders gently criticized the senators who shut down the government – even though US Capitol Police remained on duty and were injured during the wild car chase and shooting that shut down the Congressional complex.

“Free us from the pretense of trying to sound reasonable when you’re not,” Black prayed.

There isn’t much sense on Capitol Hill, and perhaps the most senseless thing heard last week came from US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger.

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While the chief was just a messenger, Manger informed the Senate committee that his department recorded 700 incidents of threats of violence against lawmakers in November alone. Even worse, Manger said there were 55 recorded calls made to lawmakers at their homes.

“Swatting” is when someone makes a fake phone call. The police then send a “SWAT” team to the address, often confusing the target.

“If you knew when to go home, you might be able to rest for a while,” Manger said in testimony to the Senate Rules Committee. “Those days are gone.”

Threats were called on Thanksgiving Day throughout the Connecticut House and Senate delegation.

Some lawmakers face more problems than others.

“I feel bad for the record holder,” lamented Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

And these fake threats sometimes cause great tragedy to innocent bystanders.

Rome, Ga., bomb squad member David Metroka was running to meet the rest of his squad in Greene when he crashed into a car driven by Tammie Pickelsimer. He later died in hospital.

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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks before the arrival of Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Johnny Mercer Theater on September 24, 2024 in Savannah, Ga. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

In fact, the threat of Greene’s tenure did not materialize in real time. It was emailed to the local police and closed in the junk email folder. The police received the message a few days later and sent a team of soldiers.

How do lawmakers protect themselves in an environment full of so much money?

“I’m a gun owner,” Greene said. “It’s very important that I can defend myself if needed.”

Lawmakers have long faced threats. Some of the most tragic, tumultuous moments in recent Congressional history have involved violence. January 6. The shooting of former Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and Ron Barber, D-Ariz. The Congressional baseball shooting, which nearly killed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.

And then there’s something else that has shocked everyone who works on Capitol Hill, especially the lawmakers who were previously targeted: A cold-blooded murder in Midtown Manhattan.

“I find it troubling that there have been public figures that have been silent or dangerously close to the assassination of (UnitedHealthcare CEO) Brian Thompson,” said Rep. Richie Torres, DN.Y. “If we as a society accept the idea that political differences can be resolved through violence, it means the end of our civilization.”

“I think the worst part of that is when you see the reaction when people support a killer,” added Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio.

Sometimes, the threats may be too much for law-makers.

“We are not here to put ourselves or our families in danger,” said Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt.

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Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., has served in Congress since 1997.

“The level of contempt has increased, the level of hatred has increased,” said Smith. “When I came in as a freshman, I never thought I was in more danger because I was a member of Congress than anyone else walking down the street.”

But that is the reality of Congress.

And everyone is vulnerable.