I am always on the look-out for great journalism. I don’t have the money to subscribe on-line to several news sources; however, I was gifted an on-line subscription to The State, and I hit it every day. My go-to source is CNN.com, and I highly recommend that YOU find this article:
“A deluge of violent messages: How a surge in threats to public officials could disrupt American democracy”
It is, as they say, “scary as heck.”
It starts off with this: Editor’s note: this story contains graphic content.
Wow, THAT is an understatement. The things that people, mostly men, have decided they are entitled to say to elected officials, and elections official, and other - just, vile. Kevin Patrick Smith in early February at his home left about 60 messages for U.S. Senator Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat.
“You stand toe to toe with me, I rip your head off. You die,” as an example
The FBI tells him to stop - he starts back after 10 days.
When arrested, Smith has 4 shotguns, 5 rifles, 8 pistols, a homemade silencer nearly 1,200 rounds of ammo — he pleads guilty to threatening to injure and murder a U.S. Senator and is sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.
HIS CASE IS RARE. Not because fewer and fewer people these days are deciding not to threaten public officials - on the contrary, public service is potentially more violent than ever. No, most of the time people who leave threatening messages cannot be prosecuted - because the message has to be a clear threat — Not, I am going to kill you - But rather, I am going to kill you at 2:30 in the afternoon of Dec. 30 with my 9mm Glock pistol AND the person leaving the threat must have the means to carry out the threat. A person who doesn’t own a pistol would not have the means to carry out the threat.
Now, this information is not to encourage people to threaten other people in a way that cannot be prosecuted — this is not intended to be a “how to” —- but rather a “Stop Doing It.” Guys.
CNN’s review found nearly 95% of people PROSECUTED for making threats to public officials are male and their median age is 37.
CNN says it reviewed more than 540 cases “involving people who have been federally charged with making threats against public official or institution between Jan. 2013 and Nov 2023” — a research group at the University of Nebraska provided most of the names; some cases are logged by the Prosecution Project.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer, on a 7-2 vote, makes these prosecutions more difficult. In that case, a Colorado man won an appeal by saying that messages he left for a woman on Facebook including one that said, “Die. Don’t need you,” were protected free speech.
That’s kind of similar to the thousands of threatening messages left for election workers in the neighboring, battleground State of Georgia during the aftermath of the last presidential election. Yet, amazingly, CNN reported that the Attorney General in Georgia prosecuted no one for political threats after the 2020 election, when a former elections official there, Richard Barron, received “hundreds of vitriolic and threatening messages…”
One part of the CNN report says, “Threat perpetrators often argue that they are exercising their freedom of speech. One of them emailed with a CNN reporter from prison on condition that he not be named due to fears for his safety. That offender views himself as a political prisoner and claims his due-process rights were violated.
“‘At (t)he end of the day I am in prison for WORDS in a country tha(t) pretends to have a first amendment and care about its laws,” he said. “For this reason I no longer trust my government and am scared for my life and the lives of my family if I speek (sic) out.’”
Many of those prosecuted, in their defenses, lay the blame for their actions on mental illness, drugs (morphine) and going through a divorce. The article wraps up with a look at 37-year-old Taylor Taranto who re-posted a Truth Social post about President Obama’s home address - he is being held in a Philadelphia jail awaiting trial on charges resulting from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and his June 29 walk around the neighborhood in Washington, D.C. He had left his guns and machete in his van.
(CNN also includes a section “How we reported this story” with the on-line article.)
This is the article:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/07/politics/threats-us-public-officials-democracy-invs/index.html
Three other articles I recommend from CNN.com
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/12/politics/missing-russia-intelligence-trump-dg/
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/12/us/johnny-gosch-missing-iowa-boy-cec-cnnphotos/
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/18/politics/kfile-donald-trump-defends-former-influencer-racist-antisemitic-past/index.html
AND, kudos to CNN Investigates for this article that hits really close to home here.
Vic MacDonald is Editor of The Clinton Chronicle. In June, 2025, he will observe his 50th year in community journalism. Reach him at 864-833-1900.
