updated 7:20 p.m. ET March 24, 2010 At least 10 House Democrats are receiving access to increased security after receiving threats linked to their votes on the health care overhaul bill signed into law on Tuesday.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said at a Capitol Hill press conference that he is concerned by a rash of at least four incidents of vandalism targeting lawmakers who voted to approve the legislation, which did not receive any Republican votes.
Reps. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and Betsey Markey, D-Colo., are among the lawmakers who have received threatening calls. Story continues below [5;advertisement | your ad here
Stupak, an anti-abortion lawmaker whose "yes" vote was earned only after he received assurances from the White House that federal funding of abortion would be banned by an executive order, has been a target of harassment.
In audio recordings of voice messages obtained by NBC News and other networks, one caller repeatedly tells Stupak "I hope you die."
"There are millions of people across the country who wish you ill," another caller says. "And all of those thoughts projected on you will materialize into something that's not very good for you."
Anne Caprara, the chief of staff for Markey, confirmed that the representative's D.C. office has received at least two threatening calls. On Saturday, a man who spoke to the office's health care legislative assistant warned that "[you] better hope I don't run into you in a dark alley with a knife, a club or a gun."
Concern about possible violence also escalated Wednesday after a severed gas line at the home of a Democratic lawmaker's brother was discovered.
The slashed gas line leading to a propane tank at the home of Bo Perriello was found Tuesday, one day after Tea Party activists posted the address online and suggested that opponents of the reform bill should "express their thanks" to Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va.
The FBI is working with local officials to investigate the incident.
Conservative activists in Virginia posted the home address of Perriello's older brother — believing it to be the congressman's address — when suggesting in Web postings that those who disagreed with the Democratic lawmaker's vote should "drop by" to make their opposition clear.
The Charlottesville Daily Progress reported that one of the two activists who posted the address condemned the action and said he is "almost speechless."
Rep. Tom Perriello, who faces a tough re-election in November, voted to approve the Senate's version of the health care bill Sunday. He voted for an earlier version of the health overhaul and supported Democrats' economic stimulus package and the House's cap-and-trade legislation earlier this year.
"My number one priority right now is ensuring the safety of my brother's family," Perriello said in a statement Wednesday. The Virginia freshman lawmaker called upon leaders in both parties "to state unequivocally tonight that it is never OK to harm or threaten elected officials and their families with anything more than political retribution."
Republican lawmakers also condemned the threats.
"That is reprehensible behavior," said Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va. "We are a free country, but no one should be engaging in that kind of uncivil behavior," he added.
Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., whose Niagra Falls office was vandalized Friday, said that Democratic members are concerned about violence suggested by opponents of the health reform. "Basically shape up, or we're going to have a civil war," she said.
NBC's Shawna Thomas and Luke Russert contributed to this report.
