Lawmakers said they are on edge in the Capitol as they planned exits from Washington on Thursday to head back to their states and districts, with heightened security fears rippling across the country.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk's daylight assassination in front of 3,000 people during an outdoor event at a university in Utah has shaken members of both parties while renewing security concerns for elected officials and other high-profile public figures.
"People are scared to death in this building. I mean, not many of them will say it publicly, but they're running to the Speaker talking about security — and that's a lot of Republicans," Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told reporters Thursday. "People are scared, really scared."
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said providing robust security was "heavy on our hearts and minds" and said he's open to exploring a boost in funding to protect lawmakers on top of the increase they received in the last Congress. GOP leaders, he said, are "looking at all angles."
Some rank-and-file members are calling for increased security in their day-to-day official travels. Multiple lawmakers this week have also said they are thinking twice about holding certain types of outdoor events following the Kirk shooting.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) postponed two events in North Carolina this weekend, including a rally in Raleigh. She told reporters that security protocols for lawmakers are "not designed for a digital threat environment era."
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace (R) announced she would carry a gun where permitted. Mace, who is running for governor, said for now she is forgoing outdoor events and asked local police for help outside her offices in the Palmetto State.
"I had to have a talk with my 17-year-old son last night, who asked me not to run again because he's worried his dad's going to get killed," Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) told NOTUS. "And I can't, I can't tell him that that is a crazy perspective."
The renewed focus on lawmaker security comes as bipartisan House and Senate members are otherwise locked in high-stakes negotiations in search of a funding solution that can keep the government open beyond the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Security pressures have bubbled up across the country, adding to concerns. The Democratic National Committee faced a bomb threat on Thursday, later investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police and deemed "not credible." Multiple historically Black colleges and universities in a handful of states received threats and suspended classes as a precaution.
A false report of an active shooter also set off alarm at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., leading to real-life gunfire following an altercation between a midshipman and a law enforcement officer who was mistaken for a shooter, The New York Times reported.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called out the threats targeting HBCUs in particular, saying disrupting the schools at the start of the academic year was "despicable." The Congressional Black Caucus demanded the Justice Department and FBI investigate.
A MANHUNT for the assassin in Kirk's killing has entered a third day, with state and federal law enforcement authorities asking for the public's help in identifying a person of interest who is pictured in security camera footage at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who has faced increasing scrutiny over his decision to announce Wednesday an individual was in custody before later saying they had been released, flew to Utah on Thursday as the bureau investigates. The FBI announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of the shooter.
Officials released footage of the suspect running across a roof on campus after the shooting before dropping down to the ground and fleeing into a nearby neighborhood. A bolt-action rifle believed to have been used by the gunman, who fired a single shot, has been recovered.
Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the Turning Point USA organization and a close Trump ally who forged deep connections with numerous top officials in the White House and administration, traveled to campuses around the country with a private security team. Six police officers were present on Wednesday at his event, according to Utah Valley University's police chief.
▪ The Washington Post: Colleges are unprepared for threats like Kirk's killing, experts say.
▪ The New York Times: After the Kirk assassination, fear and vitriol intensify in Congress.
Trump, who commemorated 9/11 at a Pentagon ceremony on Thursday before flying to New York City to attend a Yankees baseball game, announced he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The president told reporters he was confident the shooter, whom he described as a "total animal," will be apprehended "and we will deal with him very appropriately."
Trump called Kirk "an advocate of nonviolence" and said, "That's the way I'd like to see people respond."
The president said he will attend Kirk's funeral in Arizona.
Vice President Vance traveled Thursday to Salt Lake City to fly Kirk's casket to his home in Phoenix aboard Air Force Two.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), a Kirk admirer, took initial steps, including a formal letter on Thursday, to try to get a statue of the slain activist placed inside the Capitol.
▪ Read more in Emily Brooks's The Movement newsletter: Kirk's assassination was a turning point for conservatives.
▪ CNN analysis: After Kirk's murder, an entire way of doing politics is at risk.
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