BRATTLEBORO-In peaceful, quiet Brattleboro, you wouldn’t think you would need a bodyguard. But given the turmoil in Washington and the political hatred being freely spewed over the internet and in political television ads these days, the sad truth is that U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., needs one.
Contemporary American political violence has a long and complicated story, but it is growing much uglier.
It was building long before the Pennsylvania governor’s residence in Harrisburg suffered major damage during an overnight arson attack on April 13, 2025, while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping inside.
The story continued on June 14, 2025, when a gunman disguised himself as a law enforcement officer and carried out targeted shootings in Minnesota. State Rep. and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were killed. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were seriously injured but survived.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz characterized the attacks as “targeted political violence.”
This murderous political environment has had a very high price. U.S. Capitol Police reported investigating 14,938 cases and threats in 2025, up from 9,474 in 2024.
And as far as Brattleboro is concerned, they’re threatening our girl.
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In early September, a motion to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for incompetence was introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie.
The Kentucky Republican accused the defense secretary of repeatedly violating the Constitution through his handling of the war with Iran and the deaths of civilians in conflicts worldwide.
Rather than bring the issue to a vote and potentially embarrass President Donald Trump and Hegseth, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson adjourned the House early, on Sept. 16. The lawmakers are not scheduled to return until after the midterm elections, thus setting a record for fewest days in session.
The extra free time permits lawmakers to return to their homes and families. Balint returned to Brattleboro, where she has been working for other Democratic candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.
But even in Brattleboro, she now has to have a bodyguard.
“Since the assassination of the two members of the Minnesota House, many of us in the House have seen an increase concerning chatter and threats,” Balint told The Commons. “And we now have much more security in the House. And I also have a body person that travels with me around Vermont. Any place I go, I have a body person.”
Her bodyguard formerly worked in law enforcement and now does private security. He does not live in the house with Balint, her wife, and their children, but he goes to work with her each day.
“I always have to let people know that all of us right now feel frightened about this moment,” Balint said. “But I know that serving in Congress with any person of color or woman of color, they’re dealing with 10 times the threats I am.
“I try to keep it in perspective,” she continues. “Some of my colleagues can’t go anywhere. I can dress down in the airport, and sometimes people will leave me alone. But for some of my colleagues, they need security from the moment they walk into an airport.”
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The fact that political threats have reached Brattleboro is concerning. More concerning is that it potentially puts everyone in town in danger.
If a crazed gunman is going to go after Balint in public, he could hit other people as well.
And in Vermont, many people own guns.
Balint understands the dangers but remains optimistic. She hopes that the climate of hatred and mistrust will end, and soon.
“It is my hope that some of this fever is going to break,” she said. “As I travel in support of other candidates, I see that people don’t want to live like this. They don’t want to be living in a time when we’re told to hate one another.”
Joyce Marcel is a reporter and columnist for The Commons, where she regularly covers politics, homelessness, economic development issues, and the arts.
This News column by Joyce Marcel was written for The Commons.