From a Vice News Report. Recordings and quotes from actual threats included. Caution, the language is strong, and often disturbing. In one case, involving threats involving the official’s children, he can’t even bring himself to read it.
Here is a sampling of some of what you will hear.
- “Hey Rick, 234 years ago the founding caucasian fathers of America gave us the Second Amendment. Times running out Richard. We’re coming after you and every mother fucker that stole this election, with our Second Amendment, subpoena be damned. You’re going to be served lead, you fucking, fucking enemy communist [bleeped]. You will be served, lead.”
- “We’ll make the Boston bombing look like child’s play at the poll sites in this county. You just fucking wait, no one at these places will be spared.”
- “Your husband should tell the truth or your three kids will be fatally shot. Cops can’t help you. Q.” [Note the email, sent to the poll workers wife, then provided a link to a picture of the poll worker’s home].
- “You ought to blow your fucking brains out, you piece of shit.”
- “If you had a hand in this you deserve to go to prison. You actually deserve to hang by your God damn [indecipherable] skinny ass neck.”
- “This election is [expletive] rigged. Detonations will occur at every polling site set up in this county. No one at these places will be spared.”
- “You lied. You’re a traitor. Perhaps cuts and bullets will soon arrive [poll official’s address listed, his wife’s name mentioned, his kid’s names mentioned (including his daughter’s nickname)]. RINO stole election. We steal lives. Q.”
It went beyond phone and email threats. Poll workers were surveilled at their homes and work, pictures taken of them. Some threats seemed responsive to specific tweets by President Trump that targeted specific election officials by name.
The officials go on to discuss that many of them are quitting and express fear as to what will replace them.
This is what Trump’s Big Lie brings to America. It is only part of the reason he, and his Big Lie, remain a fundamental threat to our democracy. The lies did not stop on January 6th and neither did the heinous threats and efforts to intimidate election officials.
