Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in December said that the Department of Justice has seen an “unprecedented rise” in threats against public officials, Politico reported.
In an interview that aired on ABC’s “This Week” on December 21, Monaco said she has been getting reports at least weekly of threats to public officials, prosecutors, judges, and federal law enforcement.
She said in the previous week alone, the Justice Department received cases involving death threats to FBI agents, three presidential candidates, and a Supreme Court justice.
ABC’s Pierre Thomas asked Monaco if Donald Trump’s rhetoric, like saying immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country, or calling Justice Department officials “thugs” is helpful.
Monaco said it was not.
Monaco explained that the source of threats against the United States has changed since 9/11. In 2001, the country’s security apparatus was focused on threats from foreign terror groups. Today, it is focused on small groups or individuals who have been radicalized online by either foreign groups or over domestic issues.
Monaco also confirmed that threats against Jewish people and institutions have risen following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel. She said since the October 7 attacks, the FBI received over 1,800 tips, reports, and leads about threats connected to the conflict in Gaza but many were resolved without incident.
Following the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Donald Trump from the state’s GOP primary ballot, the FBI said it was assisting Colorado law enforcement in investigating multiple threats against the state justices, according to a report in Reuters.
The Denver Police Department said in a December 26 statement that it was providing extra patrols at the residences of the Colorado justices and was working with federal, state, and local law enforcement to investigate reported threats or harassment.
According to CBS News, online threats were aimed at the four Colorado justices who ruled in favor of barring Trump from the ballot, with users posting the addresses and photos of the justices and calling for them to be killed.
