Minneapolis council member reported gun threats. Six months later, he’s awaiting a charging decision.

Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez was running for reelection in June when he posted a flyer on X promoting a drag show fundraiser at Hook & Ladder Theater. A user named “TrumpBatman” replied with an expletive, posting, “Hope someone goes there to sh*t the place up hard.”

In other posts around that time, that user repeatedly called Chavez “beanie” and “burrito girl,” writing, with asterisks, he hoped Chavez would “get hit by a b**” on the way to the DFL Caucus Night and that he and the “rest of the illegals needs to get executed by MPD firing squad.”

The user also tagged Chavez on a video clip depicting a person being assaulted at gunpoint. The caption said the Ward 9 council member “is next.”

Chavez’s experience comes as political violence is on the rise nationally, affecting the lives of public officials at every level of government, including local officeholders. In interviews this week, it became apparent that a majority of Minneapolis City Council members have sought help from authorities to address threats, with several seeking or obtaining court orders to protect themselves from alleged harassers.

Chavez chose to go public after his colleague, Council Member Emily Koski, revealed her own story of being harassed for two years by a different man, whom the Star Tribune reported has a history of threatening public officials dating back at least a decade.

While Minneapolis City Council members are no strangers to online abuse, Chavez said he involved the police over the summer because of TrumpBatman’s allusions to him getting shot.

Chavez became increasingly sensitive to the possibility of actual violence after an assailant attacked state lawmakers at their homes in July, killing House Speaker Melissa Hortman and wounding Sen. John Hoffman, an incident that ignited conversations about the personal safety of public officials throughout Minnesota.

The case involving threats to Chavez is still under review because prosecutors may be waiting on additional reports, Dennis Gerhardstein, a spokesman for the county attorney’s office, said last month. He did not respond to a request for an update Tuesday.

Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Garrett Parten said he was unable to comment on the investigation.

The alleged harasser declined to comment on the specifics of the pending legal matter but said he disputed the allegations. The Minnesota Star Tribune does not typically name suspects in criminal cases if they have not been charged.

Chavez obtained a temporary harassment restraining order against his alleged harasser. They’re due back in court next month to determine whether it should be extended.

“For the longest time before the restraining order, I had to look around before I would get into my car, look around before I would go into my apartment, look around before I was driving to make sure nobody was following me,” Chavez said. “I hope that justice is served and I can move on with my life.”

The same man allegedly also harassed Koski’s successor, Jamison Whiting. Both took out harassment restraining orders against him.

But even with a restraining order, Koski said she still lives in fear of retaliation and escalation — a fear that is increasingly normalized in politics.

“Do we go back to ‘normal?’ ” she asked in an email to constituents. “And is that even possible after all that has happened?”

Asked to comment Wednesday on Koski’s experience, a city spokesperson released a statement saying, “The City Attorney’s Office does not have legal authority to provide representation to individuals in the (harassment restraining order) process, even if they are council members.”

Other Minneapolis council members have dealt with aggressive behavior ranging from hostile voicemails to threats of personal violence.

Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said Fourth Precinct Inspector Charlie Adams has proactively checked in on his safety over the years, but he still prefers to resolve his own issues of stalking and violent threats, rather than rely on the criminal justice system to keep him safe.

“There is a long history of restraining orders not being enforced that have had devastating, even fatal results,” he said.

Two years ago, Council Member Michael Rainville fought for a restraining order against an activist who confronted him at a City Council meeting and said he knew where Rainville’s family lived and would be coming for him. Rainville said he continues to receive a regular barrage of online abuse that can be interpreted as threats and which he has reported to the police, though none have reached the level of criminal charges.

Recently, someone suggested hiring a Somali person to torture him in his sleep, Rainville said.

“What do you do with a guy like that?” Rainville asked. “The problem is, it is such a high bar to be considered a viable threat.”

Council Member Katie Cashman also obtained a restraining order in October, she revealed to the Star Tribune on Wednesday. In her case, a neighbor who lived one house down from her in Loring Heights sent hundreds of abusive emails commenting on her clothes and hair when she entered and left her house over 2½ years. Much of the correspondence suggested she was not qualified for leadership due to her age and sex, Cashman said.

“It’s pretty triggering, so I just really tried to ignore it. And I tried to ignore it for a really long time,” she said. “The last straw for me was when he started emailing my staff, asking when I was going to be home.”

Unlike Ellison, Cashman said she never received much proactive concern from the police and city administration about her safety, even after the attacks on the state lawmakers. She said her first thought after the murder of Hortman was that her neighbor was going to come over and shoot her.

Council Member Robin Wonsley has a restraining order as well that is about a month old. She declined to discuss specifics but said the harassment didn’t seem related to any specific political stance that she had taken, but rather her status as a public official. She said she has already faced difficulty with enforcing her restraining order.