Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Hayes has ‘heightened sense of awareness’ about security concerns

  • Politics
  • by Ana Radelat
  • August 1, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes during a congressional hearing on education earlier this year.

Washington – With threats against members of Congress on the rise and President Donald Trump issuing hostile tweets against lawmakers of color, Rep. Jahana Hayes is taking extra care during her August break.

“I have a heightened sense of awareness,” Hayes said.

Hayes, D-5th District, said she has been the target of vile and racist phone calls, emails and social media posts. She said she sometimes wrenches the phone from a staffer to speak directly to an abusive caller.

Lawmakers were warned in a July 26 email from the House Sergeant at Arms, a law enforcement officer whose duties are to protect lawmakers and maintain order in the U.S. House, to take more precautions at public events during Congress’ summer break.

Hayes has not put out a public schedule since July 19, when her staff sent Connecticut news outlets an email about an upcoming visit to Little Poland in New Britain and a roundtable discussion in Waterbury.

“We’ve been careful about releasing where she’s going to be publicly,” said Hayes spokesman Sam Dorn.

Hayes said she understands why some have displayed hostility toward her, adding that she “knew what she would be getting into” when she ran for Congress. Hayes is the first African-American woman to represent a Connecticut district in Congress.

“I am an African-American woman who is newly elected in a district that is really moderate,” she said.

But Hayes said she has not been threatened physically and that the rancor she’s been subjected to is limited to a group of people whose names she’s begun to recognize because of the frequency of their attacks.

“It’s not like it’s an insurgency,” she said.

The August break is normally a chance for lawmakers to hold town halls and other public events to reconnect with their constituents.

But now a dark cloud looms over those summertime gatherings.

In his July 26 email, sent shortly before Congress broke for summer recess, the Sergeant of Arms warned lawmakers “of the significance of maintaining an enhanced security awareness in your district.”

Paul D. Irving, the House Sergeant at Arms, “strongly advised” lawmakers to have the “Law Enforcement Coordinator” on their staff submit information about all public forums to the Sergeant at Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police.

Irving said the information should be submitted at least three days in advance to give his office and the Capitol Police time “to coordinate with the proper law enforcement authorities for any necessary local police assistance at the event.”

Irving also told lawmakers “as you spend time in your district, I strongly encourage you and your staff to take this time to review your district office security protocols,” and to have staffers attend “security awareness briefings.”

“As a reminder, we also provide at no cost to the Members’ Representational Allowance, a security system for a district office that includes an intrusion detection, duress system, and video intercom,” Irving wrote in his memo.

Last month, Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund testified that threats against members of Congress are increasing and on pace to exceed those received in fiscal year 2018.

“We continue to see the threat assessment cases that we’re opening continue to grow,” Sund told the House Administration Committee. “For fiscal year 2018 we had approximately 4,894 cases. So far for this year, we have 2,502 cases. So we’re on par to probably break last year’s.”

Sund’s testimony came two days after Trump sent a series of tweets telling four Democratic congresswomen of color, known as ‘the Squad,’  to “go back” to other countries.

Jahana Hayes has been in the spotlight since her election to the House, including a Rolling Stone cover story with U.S. Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

All four are U.S. citizens and only one, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was born outside the United States. The others — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — were born in the United States.

Ocasio-Cortez called the group of freshmen ‘the Squad’ in an Instagram post a week after Election Day and the moniker has stuck.

Although she shares some of their progressive ideas and non-traditional background, Hayes said some people assume “oh, she’s a fifth member of the squad,” or “she’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

But Hayes said she has split with Ocasio–Cortez and the other three congresswomen on a number of issues, including defense spending and a bill that gives the Trump administration additional money for border security.

“Look at my record. I’m in Congress to represent the people of my district,” she said, adding, “I know about compromise.”

After Trump’s tweets about the four congresswomen, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., sent a letter to the chairman of the Capitol Police Board, asking for an emergency meeting to examine the board’s approach to risk analysis for members at particularly high risk.

“Unfortunately, the president’s charged remarks directed towards Members of Congress have emboldened people to pursue acts of violence against public officials,” Thompson said.

He said that after Trump attacked Rep. Maxine Waters last year, the California Democrat received death threats. Thompson also said Trump’s remarks about  Omar have incited death threats.

Since then, the president has launched a multi-day Twitter tirade against Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., calling the African-American lawmaker “racist” and his Baltimore district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

Hayes said she is dismayed by the hostility and divisiveness that characterizes U.S. politics, but said that “from the perspective of a history teacher,” she believes the nation is going through “growing pains” that “will be overcome.”

“I think we can get back to the point where we can disagree without being disagreeable,” she said.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ana Radelat Ana has written about politics and policy in Washington, D.C.. for Gannett, Thompson Reuters and UPI. She was a special correspondent for the Miami Herald, and a regular contributor to The New York TImes, Advertising Age and several other publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism, for CNN and several local NPR stations. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Connecticut House joins national civil rights campaign over Black hair styles
by Mark Pazniokas

The Connecticut House voted for a bill intended to protect Black women from discrimination over their hair.

CT legislature poised to make early budget pledge to help cities and towns
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state House is expected to approve more than $100 million in new, annual PILOT grants to municipalities.

Connecticut GOP picks Susan Hatfield as state chair
by Mark Pazniokas

Susan Hatfield, vice chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, will complete the term of the former chair, J.R. Romano.

Senator alleges voter fraud, but no complaint was filed
by Mark Pazniokas

Rob Sampson said a voter in his district was told an absentee ballot already had been cast in her name.

Boston Fed chief predicts strong economic recovery begins in 2nd half of 2021 if vaccine reaches enough people
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A strong economic rebound also depends on states helping those hit hardest by COVID-19, a federal reserve official said.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Opinion Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Opinion Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Opinion To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO