The U.S. Capitol Police on Thursday briefed several progressive House members about security measures in place following an increase in violent threats against them in the days after Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel, according to a new report.
Politico reported that Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Summer Lee (Pa.) and Barbara Lee (Calif.) were among those to receive the briefings, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
A Capitol Police spokesperson told the outlet the department provided “several briefings” to lawmakers regarding enhanced protections in place.
The lawmakers have become targets over expressing positions critical of Israel as the country has continued bombarding Gaza in retribution for Hamas’ attack over the weekend.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, asked her fellow members during a closed-door meeting to defend their fellow Democratic lawmakers, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, the war in Israel continues to rage with more than 2,800 people confirmed dead on both sides.
The Israeli military on Friday ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza, which includes the densely populated Gaza City, within 24 hours ahead of what some presume will be a ground offensive.
The U.N. has warned the order would be “impossible” without “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
Ocasio-Cortez called the directive “unacceptable” in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Humanity is at stake,” she said. “Nearly half are children. We must halt this.”
U.S. Capitol Police are beefing up security measures throughout the Capitol complex after Hamas called for Friday to be a global “day of rage.”
In a statement shared with HuffPost, the department said while “there are not specific threats toward the Congress at this time, we are not taking any chances.”
“Some of what we are doing will be visible, but for safety reasons we cannot provide the public details about all of the resources that we are putting into protecting the Congress,” a spokesperson said. “Our dedicated teams are working around the clock to coordinate with our law enforcement and intelligence partners across the country to keep everyone safe.”