Chairwoman Mena, Ranking Member Waters and distinguished Members of the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today in favor of House Bill 2333. I would especially like to thank Representative Barry for your critical work on this threat to our democracy and the safety of our elected officials.
My name is Dr. Hanah Stiverson and I am the Director of the Democracy Protection program at Human Rights First, a nonprofit, nonpartisan international human rights organization that fights for the conditions that uphold democracy.
Before I came to this position I was an academic researching authoritarian movements and political violence in the United States. I have published books, articles, and a dissertation on this subject. What I have found both in my research and in years spent advocating for civic protections against these harms is that these trends are not felt evenly across our society, but they should be of equal concern to us all. Different demographics are impacted to different degrees. However, one thing remains consistent in times of rising political violence and authoritarianism worldwide- the targeting of elected officials is a key indicator of democratic instability.
That is what the United States is faced with today. We need to be clear that this is the result of burgeoning authoritarianism in the United States, and a growing ambivalence towards political violence. Disinformation and misinformation further compound the problem. It is critical that our elected officials, no matter their political party, feel safe to interact with the public without fear of retaliation. Measures like HB 2333 are absolutely critical to combat the dangers we are facing in today’s political climate, especially against online harassment strategies such as doxxing or swatting. Recent acts of violence including the assassination of Minnesota House Representatives Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, the attempted assassination of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, the fire bombing of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s house, or the multiple attempts on President Trump’s life, prove this should not be a partisan concern.
Each act of violence on a public figure has ripple effects. According to a report published by Princeton’s Bridging Divides Initiative the attacks on Minnesota lawmakers led to state and local officials reporting increasing levels of fear and emotional strain, impacting their personal lives, their willingness to engage the public, and their decisions to remain in office. Survey data from the third quarter of 2025 found that seventy-five percent of officials reported negative impacts on their willingness to engage in at least one key political or civic activity, and this affect is especially pronounced among women, people of color, and younger officials.
The environment of fear public figures currently work under is not likely to lessen anytime soon. In 2023 the US Capitol Police investigated over 8,000 threats, a 50 percent increase compared with 2018. Another study put out by the Impact Project showed a massive spike in threats to public servants between 2015 to 2025, with 375 recorded in 2024 and 291 in 2025. Compared to only 8 such threats in 2015, this is clearly a trend that must be taken seriously.
What I would like to drive home is the seriousness of the threat that elected officials are facing today, and the need for bills like HB 2333, which would provide essential protections to combat swatting, doxxing, and other forms of harassment and violence. It is absolutely critical that we value and defend the safety of our democratic processes and those that represent our communities in office. Thank you all for allowing me to speak today on this topic, and for your continued work on these issues.
