In a democracy, policy is decided through votes, not violence. That’s why the recent news about threats being made against some of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Democratic lawmakers are so disappointing. Law enforcement agencies at every level should make sure that anyone making such threats faces severe consequences. Our political leaders should also be outspoken against such behavior.

Last week on Thanksgiving, a holiday in which everybody should feel safe to celebrate with their families in their homes, at least five Democratic lawmakers in the state of Connecticut received bomb threats. The day before Thanksgiving several Trump nominees were also targeted by bomb threats or swatting. Swatting is calling 911 in order to get the police (including the Special Weapons and Tactics unit- hence the name) to show up at somebody’s house under the pretense that there is a serious crime taking place.

Luckily, nobody was hurt in these incidents, but they are more than a mere disruption of the target’s day. Previous swatting incidents have resulted in law enforcement officers being injured enroute. Targets of swatting have suffered heart attacks as a result of having heavily armed police units breaking into their homes. In addition to the immediate and obvious impacts of swatting, there is of course the cost to the taxpayers of having these specialized units gear up and engage with the target. And think of how many things can go wrong during that engagement. God forbid the responding law enforcement officials misinterpret what’s happening and fire on a perceived threat. And what about the use of resources on a non-emergency, what happens if an actual emergency takes place during that time? Will the response be delayed?

I can’t imagine what it must feel like to have the police come busting through your door, guns drawn, when you were unaware of any incident taking place. Earlier this year, former Representative Adam Kinzinger wrote about being swatted twice in 2011. In his article for CNN, he wrote not just about the potential danger to him, but also to his neighbors as well.

This use of intimidation has a corrosive effect on our democracy. We saw that in the aftermath of the January 6 riots. Some House Republicans told their Democratic colleagues that they wouldn’t vote to impeach President Trump because they were afraid about the threats that they had received. The result was a breaking down of the checks and balances on which our government depends. One wonders how many votes have been impacted by threats of violence being made against our lawmakers.

One of the problems for law enforcement is that these are difficult crimes to investigate. Technology has made it so that the fake 911 calls appear to be coming from the target themselves.

And while calling in bomb threats is not necessarily a new tactic to intimidate and disrupt, there is a disturbing trend where public officials are being increasingly targeted by these types of intimidation. Almost a year ago, the Maine Secretary of State made a ruling against President Trump, she was swatted as a result of that decision. Earlier this year the Missouri Secretary of State was forced out of his home with his hands up at gunpoint by a SWAT team as a result of a swatting call. Other notable incidents within the past two years include the Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, the Ohio Attorney General, and several judges handling cases involving President Trump.

And while these are all incidents involving public officials, it isn’t just those elected to office who are targeted by these types of calls. This past September two elementary schools in Springfield, Ohio, were targets of bomb threats as a result of President Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric surrounding Haitian residents in that city. Some libraries have received bomb threats recently because of what books they have on their shelves.

All of these incidents have something in common: they are trying to impact policy through the use of fear. We have a word for that: terrorism. As long as the individuals who engage in these terroristic acts are allowed to get away with it, they and their like-minded ilk will continue to do so. We need to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to track down and hold accountable these individuals. Deterrence should be the goal in sentencing anyone making a bomb threat or bogus 911 call and the consequences should be severe.