The Rising Tide of Threats to Public Officials: A Menace to American Democracy

Editors Note: This story contains graphic content.

Tune into The Lead with Jake Tapper for Senior National Correspondent Kyung Lahs report on this story.

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FBI agents warned Smith, who resided within close proximity to the Montana Democrats' office in Kalispell, to cease making threats that were causing fear among the senator's staff. However, the contractor, unable to comply, resumed the calls with increased intensity after a 10-day hiatus, leaving messages that now included references to guns.

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In total, Smith left approximately 60 messages for Tester's office, often amid the noise of a loud TV or radio. Along with making vague accusations such as "you're pedophiles and you're criminals," Smith's threats lacked specific details about the reasons for his intense anger.

CNN reviewed more than 500 federally prosecuted threats. Here's what we found:

At least 41% of all the cases across the decade were politically motivated.

Threats linked to heated political issues such as abortion and police brutality surged during the Trump administration, escalating by over 300% compared to Obama's second term.

During Obama's second term, 16 Democratic lawmakers received threats while in power, a number that jumped by 169% to 43 GOP lawmakers threatened during Trump's presidency.

Election officials have recently been the target of threats, with staff in multiple states receiving suspicious letters last month. In Washington state, one of these letters was found to contain fentanyl. Anne Speckhard, director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, has described these threats against public officials and election workers as potentially the most dangerous hate crimes, as they pose a serious threat to democracy.

Emergency and law enforcement agencies respond to a possible hazmat situation at the King County Elections office in Renton, Washington, Nov. 8, 2023.

Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times/AP

In 2021, a peak year for threatening activity, the Capitol Police reported more than 9,600 direct threats and "concerning statements" targeting members of Congress. Additionally, the US Marshals Service received over 4,500 threats directed toward judges, attorneys, jurors, and others under their protection.

Data reviewed by CNN revealed that federal charges were only brought in 72 cases of threats against public servants or institutions in 2021. Roughly half of these threats were driven by ideology, encompassing violent statements made against partisan elected officials, presidential appointees, election workers, or professionals such as doctors, judges, school officials, and law enforcement officers. The motivation behind approximately 40% of the cases over the decade was found to be politically motivated.

Most hostile messages sent to public servants are not considered actionable threats under the law, making prosecution difficult. The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a Colorado man who argued that his harassing messages on Facebook were not intended as threats and should be protected speech, making it even more challenging to prosecute such cases. This decision, with Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett dissenting, overturned a previous ruling that had set a less strict prosecution standard based on causing distress to a "reasonable person."

A spokesperson for the state attorney general informed CNN that none of the threats made to election officials in Georgia "amounted to criminal behavior or led to the identification of any suspects," resulting in no charges being filed.

Barron told CNN that Trump's behavior seemed to give people a sense of freedom to say and threaten whatever they wanted without fear of consequences. In a voicemail obtained by CNN, a man who believed the election was stolen made racist remarks about the "Caucasian" founding fathers and expressed violent threats towards Barron, who is White and managed a majority-Black staff.

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Voicemail left by unknown perpetrator for election official Richard Barron

Source: Richard Barron | December 2020

Barron stated that two agents did interview him about the "served lead" threat, but he hasn't received any updates since his departure. John Keller, an official with the election task force established by the DOJ in 2021, told CNN that the hostile message seems to "meet the definition of a true threat," but he could not comment on cases where charges have not been filed.

Katherine Keneally, head of threat analysis and prevention at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, pointed out that threats to public officials are under-prosecuted. She believes this is partly due to a "resource-strapped" Department of Justice, as well as the challenge of determining when a threat crosses a line into speech that is not protected by the First Amendment.

CNN's analysis revealed a significant increase in ideologically driven threats against public officials resulting in federal charges during Donald Trump's presidency. The number of prosecuted threats nearly tripled compared to the final term of President Barack Obama. The year 2021 saw the highest number of arrests, with over 40% occurring in January prior to President Joe Biden's inauguration, followed by a drop in 2022.

It should be noted that these statistics do not encompass ideologically or racially motivated threats or acts of violence targeting fellow citizens, which have also been on the rise. In light of the crisis in Israel and Gaza, US officials have issued warnings about a surge in threats against Muslims and Jews, and are on high alert for potential terrorist activity.

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Voicemail to Rep. Don Bacons wife during Jim Jordans bid for the House speakership

During Obama's second term, federal arrests for politically motivated threats to public officials were less likely to mention specific individuals. When they did, the target was often Obama himself.

According to CNN, between 2013 and January 19, 2017, Obama was the focus of 71% of named threats against public officials. During Trump's presidency, threats against the president accounted for 24% of all threats to public officials, and under Biden, it has decreased to 19%.

During Obama's second term, very few Republican officials were singled out, but during Trump's presidency, 43 Republicans were targeted compared to 35 Democrats. The number of threats against Democrats more than doubled under Trump, with 16 threats during Obama's term increasing significantly. US Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger informed CNN that threats to certain members of Congress often coincide with media stories about them.

Throughout the presidencies of Trump and Biden, Republicans and Democrats were targeted nearly equally, according to CNN's findings. Named Republican officials faced 82 threats while named Democrats faced 80 threats that resulted in federal charges.

The GOP often faces criticism from both sides, particularly during the Trump years when there was a notable increase in threats against members of their own party, often labeled as RINOs (Republicans in name only) by Trump supporters. However, CNN's analysis showed that it was more frequent for GOP members to be verbally attacked by individuals with left-leaning political beliefs.

The criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma includes a collection of menacing tweets directed at Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, allegedly posted by the Twitter user @Jay099635921179.

Marshall, as per his lawyer's statement to the court, has pleaded guilty and received a one-year prison sentence in mid-October, despite not owning a firearm.

Tyler Box, Marshall's attorney, informed CNN that Marshall, currently in federal custody, is a former military veteran who was discharged due to an injury. He was also going through a divorce at the time of the incident and was struggling with a serious alcohol addiction.

According to CNN, threats made to US presidents are less likely to be aligned with one political party compared to threats made to members of Congress and other politicians. For example, a study found that out of 30 individuals charged with threatening President Trump, at least four had also threatened President Obama, and one also threatened President Biden. Additionally, about a third of those who threatened President Obama did so while in prison, and one fifth had documented mental health issues.

Those who make threats often argue that they are exercising their freedom of speech. One individual, who communicated with a CNN reporter from prison on the condition of anonymity due to safety concerns, sees himself as a political prisoner and claims that his rights to due process were violated.

The prosecutability of a case depends on the specificity of the threat, the intent of the perpetrator, and the impact on the victim. Generalized or non-credible threats often fall under protected political speech. According to Seamus Hughes, a senior researcher at the University of Nebraska, a threat like "I'm going to kill you at 12:01" is more likely to be prosecutable than a general threat without a specific time.

The vast majority of the culprits - more than 90% - are male.

Quite a few, like Smith, continued to make threats even after being warned by law enforcement to knock it off.

A screengrab shows a threatening post towards public officials by Craig Robertson.

In early 2020, FBI agents were alerted to threatening voicemails targeting California Rep. Adam Schiff. The traced the source to a cheap motel in Bullhead City, Arizona, where they found 77-year-old Steven Martis, a Vietnam veteran with no family. Despite his love for alcohol, weed, and Fox News, the agents let him off with a warning.

Martis was arrested this time after investigators found a gun part in his room, though no firearms were discovered. He was convicted for threatening public officials and sentenced to 21 months in prison, despite his attorney's highlighting of a probation report that indicated Martis did not seem to have the means or intent to carry out the threats. It is common for threat offenders to have the means and intent to carry out acts of violence.

Some of the most alarming instances involved individuals who made threats not directly to the public official they were targeting, but instead indirectly to a friend or family member, who then reported them to the authorities. CNN identified at least four individuals who had taken this approach and had even driven towards Washington, DC, with weapons in their vehicles.

One of these individuals was Kenelm Shirk III, a troubled 71-year-old lawyer from a small town in Pennsylvania. On January 21, 2021 - a day after Biden's inauguration - Shirk had a breakdown.

That evening, amidst a confrontation with his ex-wife, who he was still living with, Shirk mentioned his intention to harm Democratic senators before leaving in his car. His ex-wife promptly called the police, leading to his apprehension 90 miles away at a gas station. Upon searching his car, authorities found an assault rifle, two handguns, and a substantial amount of ammunition. Following this incident, Shirk was taken in for a mental-health evaluation, during which a nurse informed the court of his alarming plans.

These perpetrators are generally better educated, older, and more financially stable than those who commit other violent crimes, according to LaFree, who works with a database that documents attacks on civilians but does not monitor threats. At 33 years old, the average age of perpetrators in his database contrasts with FBI data that indicates most violent criminals tend to be in their mid-to-late 20s.

"They are not the most socially disadvantaged, like the poorest of the poor; they are more akin to underachievers," he remarked, highlighting that while socioeconomic status is a good predictor of crime, it is less reliable for anticipating political violence.

The footage shows the chaos of the moment in which assailant David DePape attacked the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in October 2022.

"They do not issue threats to anyone because their focus is to remain unnoticed," she explained.

However, some individuals who make threats end up committing dreadful acts of violence. An example is Robert Card, a 40-year-old National Guard reservist who killed 18 people in two consecutive shooting rampages in Maine before dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Threats can wreak havoc without escalating to violence, especially when they come in overwhelming numbers.

In 2021, 20% of election workers expressed a readiness to resign, with over 50% citing safety worries following unsubstantiated allegations of extensive election fraud in 2020 that triggered a deluge of threats.

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Voicemail left by an unknown perpetrator for a Maricopa County, Arizona, election official

Source: Maricopa County Board of Supervisors | After the 2020 election; exact date unknown

Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump clash with police at the US Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.

After a firestorm of threats in Arizona, prosecutions are prioritized

Few places were as impacted by this phenomenon as Arizona, which became a hotbed of stolen-election conspiracy theories and threats after the 2020 election.

In this Nov. 4, 2020, file photo, elections officials count ballots at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office in Phoenix.

"We will not tolerate that," she told CNN. "If you engage in this behavior, you will end up in jail."

During this summer, a perpetrator received a severe punishment for threatening two Arizona election officials following the 2020 election.

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He also reached out to then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a fellow Republican who had supported the legitimacy of the elections.

Rissi's situation demonstrates the impact of threats to public officials on democracy, as well as the way in which radicalization can strain family relationships.

He commented, "How disconnected from reality do you need to be to truly believe that something like that will actually happen?"

(Rissi, who admitted guilt to two charges of sending threatening interstate messages, chose not to provide a comment for this article.)

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Voicemail left by Mark Rissi for his son

Rissi expressed horror upon hearing the recording she left for Mr. Hickman, as noted in a transcript of his sentencing hearing. In his testimony, 58-year-old Hickman described the "nightmare" of facing threats from multiple assailants, including Rissi.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors member Clint Hickman is pictured during the Board of Supervisors formal meeting on Nov. 16, 2022.

As of now, the Justice Department has established a special unit to prosecute threats of violence against election workers following the 2020 election. So far, charges have been filed against 20 defendants, including Rissi, who is set to report to prison in January. "The department considers this behavior to be of utmost seriousness," Keller stated. "Our elections cannot function without these dedicated workers. Without our elections, our democracy would not operate effectively."

In 2021, CNN's analysis uncovered a decline in threats leading to federal prosecutions, dropping from 72 to 46. Similarly, politically motivated threats decreased from 38 to 20. Additionally, there was a decrease in overall threats and concerning statements made to public officials in at least two major categories.

The federal government is already considering what to expect in 2024, with the Department of Homeland Security releasing a threat assessment that predicts a high but mostly unchanged threat of violence from radicalized individuals in the US, particularly "lone offenders."

Thomas Manger, the Chief of the US Capitol Police, is getting ready to give testimony at a joint oversight hearing by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the House Administration Committee to scrutinize the Capitol Police Board on July 26, 2023. - This photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images

In May, a 60-year-old right-wing conspiracy theorist left a voicemail in the office of a Texas Congresswoman, making derogatory remarks and threatening violence. The suspect, Michael David Fox, pleaded guilty to making a threat. Later in September, a 29-year-old Montana man with a history of menacing behavior, who had previously had his firearms confiscated, was accused of making death threats to Sen. Tester; he agreed to plead guilty. In the same month, the offices of two Georgia Republicans in Congress - Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rich McCormick - received death threats, causing McCormick to temporarily close an office in Georgia. Meanwhile, with the upcoming election and Trump indictments, Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, has been filled with inflammatory and dangerous posts from Trump himself.

Surveillance footage depicts Taylor Taranto entering amongst a mob who were streaming into the US Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

"Coming at you McCarthy," Taranto said. "Cant stop whats coming. Nothing can stop whats coming."

HOW WE REPORTED THIS STORY

In August, the University of Nebraska's NCITE released a report on threats against public officials, based on cases identified through US Attorney office press releases and news reports. Upon releasing the report, NCITE shared its list of defendants with CNN. CNN subsequently searched The Prosecution Project's public database for additional cases that matched the parameters of the story. The Prosecution Project is an open-source research platform that tracks felony criminal cases involving political violence since 1990, identifying cases through court records, news reports, and government press releases.

In order to prevent delays in prosecution timeline analysis, CNN utilized court records or official government statements to establish the date of the threat. When multiple threats were made over a period of time, CNN relied on the earliest available date.

CNN classified politically motivated threats as those aimed at specifically named elected officials or election employees, as well as threats that focused on controversial political issues such as abortion rights, police brutality, or gun control. Threats originating from a personal grievance, such as an inmate threatening the prosecutor of his case and an elected official, were not categorized as politically motivated.