‘You Should Be Hunted’: Top State Election Officials Speak Out on Disturbing Threats They’re Still Getting

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There have been many reports since last November about threats to election officials. Last December, armed protesters gathered around the home of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. In June, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger revealed disturbing death threats sent directly to his wife.

Benson, Raffensperger, and more Secretaries of State spoke out to CNN about how these threats have continued.

A new report by Isaac Dovere and Jeremy Herb details not only the threats they’ve received but some frustration they have about a lacking law enforcement response.

Raffensperger said the FBI has spoken to individuals as part of investigations into the threats, but CNN reports no arrests have been made in his case.

Benson is worried about a lack of arrests because “the lack of accountability means one thing: we have to anticipate that it will continue, and then as we close in on next year’s election and 2024, I think it will simply continue to escalate unless there are real consequences.”

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who was given around-the-clock protection in May after receiving death threats, shared voicemails with CNN where individuals said things like “I am a hunter — and I think you should be hunted” and “Die you bitch, die! Die you bitch, die!”

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold shared messages she’s received, including one person who tweeted “Bullet. That’s a six letter word for you,” and another who emailed, “I’m really jonzing to see your purple face after you’ve been hanged.”

Griswold in particular is concerned about law enforcement not doing more. Per CNN:

Griswold told Gov. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat, she needs more protection. But so far, he has not allocated resources for it. State police protected Griswold for two weeks, then stopped, and shelved an investigation into the threats. The governor’s office and the state police did not respond to requests for comment. A state ethics board denied her request to raise outside money for security, arguing that this could lead to improper mixing of political and government activities. The state police, according to Neil Reiff of the Democratic Association of Secretaries for State, has not provided Griswold security because the threats haven’t met the threshold for state police support.

The throughline of all these threats is the big lie pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies for months and months. Trump championed the Cyber Ninjas “audit” in Arizona and has called Election Day 2020 “the real insurrection.”