“I’ve gotten thousands of death threats in the past few years,” Mr. Wiener said. “I’m a Jewish gay man and I’ve done some very aggressive work for LGBTQ and HIV communities. They come at me hard because of that work.”
Public figures across the U.S. are facing escalating harassment and threats of violence at a time of deep political divisions and coarsened public debate. They say an undercurrent of anxiety courses through their work lives and often spills into their personal lives. Some are resigning as a result, while others are receiving enhanced security…
“Our public officials…ran because they wanted to make their communities better,” said Clarence Anthony, chief executive of the National League of Cities. “We’re finding a lot of them saying, ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’”
A study released last November by his organization found 81% of local public officials surveyed said they had experienced harassment, threats or violence in recent years. Among the factors fueling the trend, according to the report, were political polarization, deepening rifts over issues of race and gender, and the spread of misinformation through social media.
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