Local survey conducted to assess threats against elected officials

As federal officials continue to warn about violent domestic extremism, a local poll is being conducted to determine if politicians have been targeted.

San Diego Mesa College political science professor Carl Luna is leading a survey of 300 San Diego County elected officials to gauge whether they are getting more threats and if those threats are getting more violent. So far, about a third of officials have responded. The survey is conducted by the Violence, Inequality, and Power Laboratory of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego.

The poll comes at a time when officials across the country are facing angry voters at public meetings, on the street or even on their doorsteps. In some cases, anger escalated into violence.

A year ago, an alleged arson attack burned down the home of San Diego County Governor Nathan Fletcher and his wife, former Assemblyman Lorena Gonzalez. Both Democrats.

“You’ve had student council members stage protests outside their homes and receive nasty correspondence on their personal phone lines and personal mail,” Luna said. “You don’t get paid a lot for this, and if you get these kinds of threats, it’s supposed to be some kind of negative impact.”

He said the poll plans to find out whether these threats discourage elected representatives from seeking re-election or taking positions on difficult issues such as COVID-19, LGBTQ rights, election results and other topics that divide voters.

The FBI reports that violent extremism at home is one of the most persistent threats to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security said late last year that amid rising political tensions, officials saw “general calls” for violence against elected officials and candidates.

Some of these calls have been heard.

This week, a failed GOP candidate in New Mexico was charged with a December shooting at the homes of two Democratic MPs and two Democratic Commissioners.

In October, the husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi, was attacked at his home in San Francisco. Because of the attack, he ended up in intensive care.

Luna said part of the survey will also focus on finding solutions to lower temperatures.

“Most importantly, what can we do to protect First Amendment rights to speak to government and free speech, and provide forums where we can have meaningful civic engagement?” he said.

The survey results are expected to be published in June.

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