US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday denounced a “deeply disturbing” increase in the number of threats against people holding public authority.
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“These violent threats are unacceptable,” Mr. Garland thundered to reporters on the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump, the ultra-favorite for the Republican nomination in 2024.
“They threaten the foundation of our democracy,” he added.
The minister referred to a “deeply worrying increase in threats against people holding public authority in the final months of 2023”.
The Justice Department has investigated and brought charges against FBI agents, federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, presidential candidates, members of Congress, military personnel and election officials, he said.
“Several bomb threats have been made against courthouses across the country this week,” Merrick Garland continued. Also on Thursday, one person was arrested and charged with making death threats against a member of Congress and his children.
A man threw himself at a Las Vegas judge in the middle of a hearing Wednesday when he learned she was preparing to send him to prison on assault and battery charges.
The incident, filmed by court cameras, quickly went viral on social media.
“This is a small snapshot of a larger trend that includes threats of violence against those who organize elections, keep us safe, teach our children, inform us, represent voters and keep the public safe,” Mr. Garland emphasized.
He said the attack on the Capitol was “an unprecedented attack on the cornerstone of our system of government – the peaceful transfer of power from one government to another.”
More than 1,250 people have been charged and more than 890 convicted in connection with the attack on January 6, 2021.
Trump has been criminally charged with attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, won by his Democratic rival Joe Biden, and playing a role in the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021.