A Republican member of the U.S. House briefly became the focus of national attention Wednesday after far-left protesters delivered a threatening message by placing a coffin on the doorstep of his home.
The incident, caught on video, highlights the rising threats lawmakers face amid a year marked by several high-profile acts of political violence. The danger became personal for Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), chair of the House Administration Committee, when a group of elderly protesters staged a mock funeral procession up his driveway, leaving behind a coffin and flowers at his front door, reports said on Wednesday.
Steil has drawn backlash from left-wing, Democrat-aligned activists over budget cuts included in the recently passed Big, Beautiful Bill. Among those identified at the protest was former Walworth County Democratic Party Chairwoman Ellen Holly, who later shared a photo of the coffin propped upright on social media.
A sign affixed to its lid reads: “Here lie the hopes of the most vulnerable killed by the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ signed into law by President Donald J. Trump and endorsed by Lyin’ Bryan Steil. RIP Democracy 1776-2025.”
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The mock funeral was organized by the Southern Wisconsin Grassroots Network and the Working Families Party, which live-streamed the event—titled the “Death of Democracy”—on Facebook. During the broadcast, one viewer went so far as to ask for the lawmaker’s home address. In the video, a participant can be heard saying, “We’re not going to hang out here because we’re not going to invite the police to come and ask questions, and say, ‘What are you doing here, blah, blah, blah.’ We’re just going to get out of town.”
After placing the cardboard coffin at Steil’s doorstep, several protesters were seen walking across his lawn instead of using the sidewalk, with some making remarks about taking additional photographs of his home. Reports said U.S. Capitol Police are aware of the incident but it’s not clear if there will be any consequences, the least of which should be for trespassing.
“It’s disappointing that Democrat leadership and the radical left resort to these type of tactics,” Steil said, the NY Post reported. “I remain committed to my work to get this country back on track and will not be deterred by their threats.”