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The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says it’s seen an uptick in threats in the last few years, underscored by the political assassination of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark nearly one year ago. 

Last year, the BCA behavioral threat assessment management team dealt with about 100 threats. Through April of this year alone, there’ve been more than 150, Minnesota BCA Superintendent Drew Evans told Morning Edition. The State Patrol, which is in charge of State Capitol security, has seen a “significant uptick” too, he said. 

The agencies involved in responding to the Hortmans’ deaths and the apprehension of alleged killer Vance Boelter jointly paid for an after-action report with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which is likely to come out in the next month or two, he said. 

The state Legislature has passed several measures to boost Capitol and lawmaker security in the last year, including enhanced security at the building itself and a protective services unit. There’s also a new state law requiring a clear chain of communication and command and protocols to follow if public officials are threatened. 

“I think information sharing, so that people can make their own safety decisions and be in connection with other local law enforcement, is always a good thing,” Evans said. “That’s one of the things that we've learned from the very beginning of this, that communication can and will be improved when we encounter threats in ways that we can communicate more readily.” 

Social media in this divisive time is fueling the hostility, as people — across the political spectrum — repeatedly consume online content that tends to align with their belief system. That, coupled with foreign state actors trying to ramp up angry, can lead to people becoming radicalized, “and that anger turns into actual threats or action,” Evans said. “It's really important for all of us to really use and learn about what it means to be media literate.”

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Last year, the BCA behavioral threat assessment management team dealt with about 100 threats. Through April of this year alone, there’ve been more than 150, Minnesota BCA Superintendent Drew Evans told Morning Edition. 

Minnesota BCA superintendent: enhancing communication as threats are on the rise

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