Rapid Increase in Threats Against Election Officials
President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden walk across the South Lawn towards the White House on December 5, 2021 after arriving home onboard Marine One from a weekend at Camp David (David Trinks/Unsplash).
The FBI continues to lock down any potential threats against political and election officials as the 2024 election is nearly a year away.
Article by Victoria Newsome, Junior Election Correspondent
WASHINGTON - Last week, FBI agents shot and killed a 74-year-old Utah man who threatened to assassinate President Joe Biden, and this is one of the most recent examples of tensions in the political climate across the United States.
Six days before the incident, a 52-year-old man in Texas was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for threatening to senselessly murder Arizona election workers. Language and rhetoric are powerful tools that impact events, politics, and how people build relationships in society. However, recent violent threats have shown how the U.S. has a long way to go to pull itself out of the pit of polarization.
Several incidents occurred including prosecutors charging a 56-year-old Michigan woman for lying to buy guns for her mentally ill adult son, who threatened to use them against President Biden and Michigan’s Democratic Governor, Gretchen Witmer.
The threats against profound and established political officials are not only terrifying, but also create new obstacles for civil rights, law enforcement, the health of American democracy, and the security of everyone involved.
“It’s definitely increased in the last five years,” said Jake Spano, mayor in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park and a board member of the National League of Cities, which issued a report in 2021 finding that 81% of local elected officials reported receiving threats and 87% saw the problem worsening, according to AP News.
The increase in threats has been shocking ever since last year when Capitol Police reported that they actively investigated more than double the number of threats against members of Congress as they did four years prior.
Sources say that former President Donald Trump and his unfiltered rhetoric about the 2020 election being “stolen” from him most likely drove these random threats against election workers across the country.
“The lasting impact of Donald Trump’s presidency is that he made it clear that the norms of how we treat each other no longer apply,” said Spano.
Death threats, unprecedented attacks, harassment, and unfounded accusations have directly impacted the lives of election officials and the workplace environment to the point that one in six election workers report threats against them.
This leaves election workers and long-term administrators with the tough decision of sticking with their jobs to protect American democracy or protect themselves. Many people are worried that the threats online and in-person can inspire larger demonstrations of unhinged political violence.
“Lone attackers acting impulsively, rather than mass violence such as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, are the greatest worry,” stated Javed Ali, a former senior FBI counterterrorism official now at the University of Michigan.
As the Trump Trial continues and the days inch closer to the next presidential election, it will be crucial to watch how political officials and their teams will increase their security at home, on the campaign trail, and in their communities to ensure a safe election season.
The frustrations and tensions remain as the American people will need to steer away from transforming private ranting into a menacing sound of violent threats against those in political power.