Johnson reviewing ‘all the options’ to increase member security after Kirk assassination
The article reports that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is reviewing all options to enhance security for members of Congress following the assassination of Charlie Kirk by alleged gunman Tyler Robinson. In response to increased concerns about lawmakers’ safety-including a recent shooting of Minnesota state representatives-Johnson emphasized that necesary resources and measures will be provided for both personal and residential security. He urged a reduction in hostile political rhetoric, warning that inflammatory language can inspire violence. Johnson noted a significant rise in threatening behavior toward Congress members in 2025 compared to the previous year. Other politicians, including Senator James lankford (R-OK), have also called for national unity and de-escalation following this high-profile incident.
Johnson reviewing ‘all the options’ to increase member security after Kirk assassination
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said the House of Representatives is evaluating “all the options” to increase member security following the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.
In the wake of Kirk’s murder at the hands of suspected gunman 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, lawmakers have reportedly been moving events indoors and speaking out in fear of their own safety. Johnson discussed member security during his appearances on both Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream and CBS News’s Face the Nation, saying he has been speaking with several representatives this week to calm their nerves.
“We will make certain that everyone has a level of security that’s necessary, that the resources will be there for their residential security and their personal security. We’re evaluating all the options for that,” Johnson said on Face the Nation.
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Johnson said Thursday the House is conducting a review of member security that was initiated after the shooting of two Democratic Minnesota state representatives in June. He acknowledged Sunday that there is “angst” among lawmakers and called on the Democrats to “turn down the rhetoric.”
“Calling people Nazis and fascists is not helpful,” Johnson said. “There are some deranged people in society and when they see leaders using that kind of language, so often now, increasingly, it spurs them on to action. We have to recognize that reality and address it appropriately.”
U.S. Capitol Police have tracked nearly 14,000 “serious assessments of threatening and concerning behavior” directed at members of Congress so far in 2025, according to Johnson as of Sept. 5. He said throughout all of 2024, this number stood at just over 9,000.
“Many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are stepping up and saying that and addressing it,” Johnson said about addressing divisive political rhetoric. “I think this could be a turning point, frankly, to use Charlie’s term, for the country, and I hope that’s true.”
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Many of Johnson’s congressional colleagues have also been calling for the public to turn down the political temperature. On Sunday, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) called for national unity following Kirk’s assassination.
“My staffers have heard me say a thousand times, ‘When there’s a fire, you pour water on it, not gasoline.’ That should be a basic principle,” Lankford said on CNN’s State of the Union.
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