Tennessee state Sen. Charlane Oliver grew angry when she learned about the raid this month on U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home in Washington, D.C.
This was another example of “the misogyny, the gender dynamics that are at play right now,” she told Capital B. They’re dynamics that she also has had to grapple with recently.
On May 7, she stood on top of her desk — clutching a banner that read “No Jim Crow 2.0” while singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — when Republican leaders called for a vote.
The Tennessee Senate, controlled by Republicans, was gearing up to vote on a congressional map that would divide majority-Black Memphis among three districts — not unlike what had happened to Oliver’s district in 2022. Oliver, a Nashville Democrat who is up for reelection in November, had spent months pushing back against the plan. That day in May, she reached down to push the voting button. But nothing happened, she said, even when she pressed it again. But by then, the vote was over.
“My constituents feel like their vote did not count that day,” Oliver said. “How ironic it is that we were voting on a map to dilute the voting power of Black constituents, Black Tennesseans in Memphis, and then this one Black legislator, you don’t count their vote.”
Oliver and Omar are far from the only Black women in elected office who have had to navigate what they say is retaliation for seeking to hold power to account. From investigations to criminal charges, Black women in these roles have faced an array of attacks. Such experiences have raised questions about the treatment of Black women in elected office, as well as the potential ramifications for the communities that depend on them.
For Oliver, the consequences have been hard to miss. In the weeks after her protest, she said, Senate leaders took away her committee assignments and imposed financial penalties, which she said have affected her ability to carry out her duties.
In September, she and four constituents filed a lawsuit accusing Senate leadership of violating their First Amendment rights, as well as their constitutional right to equal protection.
“What we see time and time again is that when Black women do their jobs, they’re vilified,” Kimberly Peeler-Allen, the co-founder of Higher Heights for America, a group that focuses on the development of political leadership among Black women, told Capital B, “whether that looks like threats to their personal lives, raids on their homes, or felony charges against them.”
Peeler-Allen explained that the backlash is because these women are viewed as threats to “the establishment, to patriarchy, to white supremacy, to traditional power dynamics.” But to these women’s “amazing credit,” she added, they’re not deterred, because they see the stakes as too high for them to bow out.
Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who’s the Senate speaker, has defended Oliver’s punishment, calling her protest “performative, childish, and beneath the dignity” of the institution. Additionally, his spokesperson disputed her claim that she was prevented from voting, referring to it as “simply false” and maintaining that Oliver could have asked the Senate clerk to record her vote before the body adjourned.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
Who is she? Omar is a Democrat who has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis, since 2019. She was born in Somalia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000, and is the first Somali American and one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress. She’s a member of the Squad, a group of progressive lawmakers that’s been a target of President Donald Trump’s political attacks since his first stint in the White House. Omar has been a vocal critic of the administration’s immigration crackdown, saying that it’s “terrorizing a community” and that “every single” ICE agent “should be out of Minnesota.”
What backlash has she faced? In October, federal agents searched Omar’s home in Washington, D.C., as part of a federal criminal investigation. According to multiple outlets, the investigation is connected to Omar’s U.S. citizenship. While the U.S. government hasn’t said whether it will attempt to denaturalize Omar, Trump has said that he wants to deport her to Somalia.
The search came just weeks before the closely watched midterm elections, and after years of barbs from Trump, who has repeatedly attacked Somali migrants. Omar described the federal search as political intimidation, declaring that she “will not be silenced.”
Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon
Who is she? A Democratic state representative from Jacksonville, Florida, Nixon is also the party’s nominee for a U.S. Senate for the state, having defeated Alex Vindman in the primary. She’s a longtime community organizer and is challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody in November.
What backlash has she faced? In May, Nixon was arrested outside of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office after she refused to leave while seeking to meet with him about a congressional redistricting plan that advocates said would undermine Black and brown voting power in Florida.
As a result of her protest, Nixon faced misdemeanor trespassing and other charges that could have yielded up to two years in jail. However, in September, she resolved the case by agreeing to pay a $250 fine and complete 15 hours of community service. While DeSantis dismissed Nixon’s actions as “performative nonsense,” Nixon has described the experience and the fallout from it as emotionally isolating. Still, she told Capital B that she wants other Black elected officials to “get louder,” arguing that it’s vital for people in their positions to denounce policies that could harm vulnerable communities.
New York Attorney General Letitia James
Who is she? New York’s attorney general since 2019 — after previously serving as the New York City public advocate and a member of the New York City Council — James, a Democrat, is the first Black person to serve in her current role. Additionally, she’s the first Black woman to hold statewide office in New York. In 2022, her office brought a fraud case against the Trump Organization. A New York appeals court in 2025 eventually voided the $500 million penalty against Trump, but it upheld his liability.
What backlash has she faced? In October 2025, a federal grand jury indicted James on charges of bank fraud and making false statements involving a mortgage application. This was after the Trump administration replaced a U.S. attorney who refused to charge her with one who did.
James pleaded not guilty, and she described the prosecution as politically motivated. A federal judge dismissed the indictment that November, and the following month, a grand jury refused to reindict her.
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey
Who is she? McIver is a Democrat representing New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Newark. She has held her position in Congress since 2024, and previously served on the Newark City Council. Her work has focused heavily on immigration policy, as well as on oversight of federal detention facilities.
What backlash has she faced? During a congressional oversight visit in May 2025, McIver was involved in a high-profile confrontation with federal officers outside of Delaney Hall, a detention facility in Newark. Federal prosecutors subsequently charged her with three counts of forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers.
McIver has denied wrongdoing, arguing that the prosecution is “purely political.” In August 2026, a federal appeals court allowed two charges against her to proceed, while directing a lower court to review a third charge. McIver has maintained that she was only performing her congressional oversight duties, and she’s continuing to challenge the prosecution.
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