This Former Congressman Survived Political Violence. He Carried a Gun ‘To Fire Back.'

Politico

7 hours ago

In the aftermath of the assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman over the weekend, members of Congress are increasingly worried about their safety and how to better protect themselves in a toxic political environment.
Former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) is the rare figure who has been both a victim of political violence and a key player in overseeing the protection of elected officials. A survivor of the 2017 congressional baseball shooting where Majority Leader Steve Scalise was badly wounded — Davis was at home plate when the gunman opened fire from behind third base — the former Illinois congressman later became the top Republican on the House Administration Committee, which oversees security arrangements for members of the House of Representatives.
Davis, who now serves as a head of government affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, lost his 2022 primary after redistricting put him in the same district as his Donald Trump-endorsed Republican colleague, Mary Miller.
As a result of the congressional shooting — which happened precisely eight years to the day of Hortman's death — the former Illinois congressman says he now carries a gun when he can 'in order to fire back if somebody decides to come and kill me and my friends again.'
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What was your reaction to hearing about the shooting in Minnesota especially given that it was the eight-year anniversary of the congressional baseball shooting?
It brings back the memories of that day and watching my friends and wondering whether or not they were going to survive their shots. But at the same time, you begin to understand that there are just some bad people out there that are triggered for whatever reason, that they're going to save the world by killing others. And I don't get it. Never got it that day, never got it afterwards, and I still don't understand it today in Minnesota.
How did the shooting change how you dealt with constituents and appearing in public for events?
Well, it changed me personally. Even in private events, where I'm much more secure, I carry a gun, where I am able to, in order to fire back if somebody decides to come and kill me and my friends again. I'm much more aware of the security situation. I'm sitting here in London right now and working with the security officials that are on this trip that I'm a part of. And I always find myself walking at the end or watching our surroundings. I didn't pay as much attention to that before June 14 of 2017, but I do now.
How much does the congressional baseball shooting serve as a dividing line for your service in Congress?
Well, it was more of a divider immediately afterward, because the tension for Republicans in targeted districts like mine during the 2018 cycle was so immense. But then, you know, the tension went down with COVID and went down in 2022, so you don't think about it as much. But I'm a big believer in the Second Amendment, and, in my old district, I exercised my rights to be able to carry a firearm to protect myself and people wouldn't know it. I did not do that before the baseball shooting but I never wanted to feel like I couldn't fire back again.
I've talked to one of your former colleagues who said he had to wear a bulletproof vest before appearing in a parade. Did things ever reach that level for you?
I never had to do that, but I was more aware of security, and we would coordinate with local law enforcement a lot more when we did events, especially during the heightened tension of 2017 and 2018. Then, ironically, the tension went down in a presidential race. I never understood that, other than COVID, when people weren't out as much, but it just seems to me that the political atmosphere determines the security risk. And that's unfortunate, and that's what we have to address.
How do you handle this practically since it's hard to give every member of Congress their own security detail?
There are ways that member offices can work with local law enforcement to have flexibility to pay for security when there are more high-risk events. I never felt insecure going out to dinner in my hometown of Taylorville, Illinois. So I wouldn't have needed a security detail there. But parades in certain areas of the district, or more of a public town hall type of event, we were more cognizant of the security needs. But it doesn't negate the fact that you have, as a public official, threats on your lives that never get publicity. My wife would come home from work, and the kids would come home from school when I was in office, and they would immediately call me and say, 'Dad. Why is there a sheriff's car parked in front of the house?'
'Yeah, somebody threatened to blow Dad's head off again today. So I'm making sure you guys have some protection if this is serious.'
Now, those are the types of things that really have an impact on families, that have an impact on people wanting to serve in office and that, to me, is the key fact that goes unnoticed.
After the shooting, you became the top Republican on the House Administration Committee. How big of an issue was member security for you in that position?
It's a major issue for us. We wanted to address every security issue there was. And in my case, anytime I would have a threat, we would have the Capitol Police work with local law enforcement, and local law enforcement would take care of things back home.
I never had a detail based on my threats. While I was in DC, my threats were always at home, and there's a gentleman who threatened to blow my head off one morning after clearly a night of drinking that now he has a felony on his record. Because another aspect of this is you have to prosecute those who make stupid decisions to actually deter stupid decisions, and no one ever threatened to blow my head off again after somebody got a felony on their record and it was publicized.
You can have all the security in the world. But at the same time, we have to remember things are different back home, and that's where that coordination between the Capitol Police and local law enforcement has to be seamless, and that's where I think we can do a better job to make that happen in the future.
And is that on Capitol Police, local law enforcement or members to make that work?
It's everyone. I mean, when you think about it, there are plenty of times where I never would have thought a threat would have existed back home, because it's home. And after the baseball shooting, we became more aware. And you know, local law enforcement was more than willing to help, and you have to be able to make that coordinated effort.
How much does dealing with security matter versus dealing with the political environment that has produced such an increase in threats and violence?
We have to deal with the environment. I mean, you know, when you have a CEO of a company like United Healthcare assassinated in New York, you can't have politicians like [Massachusetts Sen.] Elizabeth Warren saying, 'You know, it's a tragedy. But.'
There shouldn't be this immediate reaction, 'Oh, wait, I'm okay with this because I wear a red shirt,' or 'I'm okay with this because I wear a blue shirt.' And that's the message that I tried to send immediately after the baseball shooting when I got back to the Capitol that day. And the message was we have to stop villainizing everyone, Republicans or Democrats.
We have to do what we can as former elected officials or elected officials to be able to call that out, regardless if they're on your team or not.
Is it possible to do that at this point?
There's no other option.