Federal government has prosecuted over 1,400 cases of threats against the president, study shows - as fears grow over lawmakers' safety

The national authorities has prosecuted complete 1,400 cases of threats against nan president, a caller study has revealed.

It comes aft erstwhile President Donald Trump, who witnessed an evident 2nd assassination effort connected his life connected Sunday, claimed that overheated rhetoric from Democrats was responsible for him being nether threat.

It turns out, records show, that threats travel pinch nan agency that he erstwhile held and is trying to triumph again, and hap acold much often than is wide known.

An introspection of Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows that since 1986 erstwhile Ronald Reagan was successful nan White House, nan national authorities has prosecuted 1,444 cases of threats against presidents aliases others successful statement of statesmanlike succession.

These shocking numbers person spiked fears complete lawmakers' information crossed nan US with House Republican activity readying to clasp a ballot this week connected a measure to alteration really nan Secret Service protects statesmanlike candidates.

Representative Michael Lawler, told Axios: 'In each of our districts, location are unluckily situations that originate wherever location are threats... Everybody crossed nan governmental spectrum should admit nan value of ensuring nan information and wellbeing of elected officials and their families'.

Another rep, Ritchie Torres, echoed nan concerns, saying: 'I consciousness some nan president, statesmanlike candidates and members of Congress – particularly members of Congress – are catastrophically under-protected.

'The assassination of a personnel of Congress is not a mobility of 'if,' it's a mobility of 'when.' We are surviving successful an property of governmental violence'. 

The highest number of prosecutions successful a azygous twelvemonth came successful 1987 during nan Reagan years erstwhile location were 73, according to nan study.

TRAC information shows location were 72 cases brought successful 2002 during nan George W. Bush administration. 

The Bush management besides had nan highest number of cases complete its eight-year span pinch 383, a clip of heightened hostility during nan wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Prosecutors brought 343 cases when Bill Clinton was president and 213 during erstwhile President Barack Obama's 2 terms. 

There were 68 cases brought successful Trump's first term. 

Reagan had 200 successful nan past 3 years of his presidency and 213 cases were brought during George H.W. Bush's 1 term.

The number of convictions was highest successful nan George W. Bush and Clinton years.

TRAC is simply a wide utilized database investigation instrumentality established successful nan 1980s by nan Newhouse School and nan Martin J. Whitman School of Management and created pinch authorities information obtained done national unfastened records laws and tribunal litigation.

Trump falls into galore categories arsenic a erstwhile president and statesmanlike candidate. There are statutes pertaining to threats aliases attacks connected both.

So far, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, has been charged pinch possessing a firearm contempt a anterior felony condemnation and possessing a firearm pinch an obliterated serial number. Additional charges are possible.

Authorities were continuing to analyse Routh's imaginable motive and movements successful nan days and weeks starring up to Sunday, erstwhile a Secret Service supplier assigned to Trump's information item spotted a firearm poking retired of shrubbery connected nan West Palm Beach play people wherever Trump was playing. 

The supplier fired, and Routh escaped into a athletics inferior vehicle, leaving down a integer camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style firearm pinch a scope and a integrative container containing food.

The effort connected Trump is unsocial because he is simply a erstwhile president seeking to regain nan agency who has now faced 2 attempts. 

But he is not nan only erstwhile president who survived an assassination effort trying to retake nan office. 

Teddy Roosevelt was moving arsenic a erstwhile president successful 1912 erstwhile he was changeable successful nan thorax while campaigning successful Milwaukee.

'This is not unprecedented. People thin to hide really unit has been astir nan United States for a agelong time,' said David Head, a historiographer astatine nan University of Central Florida successful Orlando.

There person been a number of notable instances that are not included successful nan TRAC data. 

Reagan was severely wounded successful 1982 and then-President Gerald Ford had 2 attempts connected his life successful a 17-day play successful 1975. 

George W. Bush was successful Tbilsi, Georgia pinch Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili successful 2005 erstwhile personification rolled a manus grenade into nan room that did not explode.

Clinton was successful nan White House connected October 29, 1994, erstwhile Francisco Martin Duran, past 26, opened occurrence extracurricular and fired astir 20 rounds astatine nan building. 

No 1 was injured but Duran was convicted of attempting to assassinate nan president and sentenced to 40 years. 

According to nan Bureau of Prisons website, he is successful a national situation successful Virginia and is not eligible for merchandise until 2029.