Protection for Elected Officials, Another Plea from the Wilderness

What do the following dates have in common?

2022: Feb 16^th and Nov 6^th // 2021: July 4^th, June 17^th, June 15^th , May 26^th May 25^th Jan 29^th

2019: May 19^th, March 7^{th /}/ 2018: Nov 12, July 6^th, June 29^th, June 26^th // 2017: May 23rd , October 7th 

Sixteen articles over six years and on each of these dates we wrote about the protection or lack thereof for elected and public officials. We pleaded with elected officials to take their security more seriously, we implored security officials and law enforcement to take the security of elected officials more seriously and we offered to provide the training needed to conduct protective operations to any agency, department, or organization.

 We even went on several Facebook groups and asked members to contact their elected representatives and ask them to take their security more seriously. We have e-mailed and faxed elected officials directly, and yet here we are 24+ hours after an attack on the husband of the Speaker of the House in their home.

 Some Success

Now we have had some success with our defending democracy program, and we have trained local and state law enforcement in five states, for 11 different agencies and another hundred or so private sector agents.

 And we can proudly say last week we completed the training of Ukrainian law enforcement responsible for close protection in a war zone, at a time when a nation state is trying to assassinate their protectee. This week we will have another group of officers responsible for the close protection of the judiciary.

A Serious Question 

But I must ask, just what kind of stupid is going on right now back home in the USA that elected officials as well as elections volunteers and other public servants don’t have at least a threat assessment completed on them?

  I’m teaching close protection to Ukrainian law enforcement and using examples of threats to political leaders in America to show the threats here, just how ridiculous is that?  And as honored as I am to be asked to temporarily put down my rifle and conduct this training in Ukraine, I must ask when American officials and law enforcement will take this issue seriously and follow the Ukrainians lead and get trained to protect their representatives when they come home to their districts.   

 I’m honestly frustrated when I hear how money for training is so tight the departments can’t afford to send an officer, but then they receive surplus military equipment and other benefits from government programs and grants. Where are those grants so we can prepare officers to keep a Member of Congress safe when they are holding an event or in their home cooking a meal?

 ISA will continue to scream from the wilderness that elected officials need to be protected. We will quote government studies and letters from members themselves asking for more security and we will highlight the findings from reports completed by former Generals and security experts.

 But will it matter?

Will they listen?

When the next Member of Congress, a member of their family or staff are injured or killed maybe they will decide to take this serious.