Plot puts focus on governors’ safety amid threats
A plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor has put a focus on the security of governors who have faced protests and threats over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
While the alleged plot against Gretchen Whitmer is the most specific and highest-profile to come to light, it’s far from the first threat against state officials, particularly Democrats who imposed business closures and restrictions on social gatherings.
In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said this week that news of the arrest of 13 men accused of planning the overthrow of Michigan’s government rattled members of her family.
“I started to get calls from both my daughters who were terrified and who were often included in some of the negative messaging,” Lujan Grisham said this week. “Early on in this pandemic. one of the threats
that we got was ‘I hope your grandchildren get COVID.’ “
In August, a man pleaded guilty to making threats against the Democratic governor on social media and
was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
During the pandemic, the state Capitol that houses her office has been closed to the public. But its
grounds have been the site of protests, including some who carried weapons and are militia members.
Even with the glass doors locked, State Police have at times deployed additional security measures, such as putting up opaque screens inside the doors to hide their exact location from protesters.
Across the country, armed protesters have rallied this year against coronavirus-related shutdowns. In Michigan, some protesters with guns were allowed inside the statehouse in April after passing temperature screenings. Some lawmakers wore bulletproof vests.
Protests both against virus restrictions and racial injustice this year have targeted not just the offices but also the homes of government executives. Fourteen unarmed protesters calling for the release of prison inmates, for instance, were arrested outside the gates of the residence of California Gov. Gavin Newsom in July.
The offices of governors and those in charge of protecting them have declined to say how security has changed because of specific threats they face or the Michigan case. Several praised the security efforts around them.
But some governors are linking the threats to President Donald Trump, who on Twitter late Thursday condemned “extreme violence” while also blasting Whitmer, saying she has done a “terrible job.”
At a briefing Friday, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, said elected officials “but especially at the top, must realize that words matter” and that rhetoric can lead to violence.
“We are reaching a boiling point in this country,” he said. “So it’s up to all of us to lower the temperature.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee singled out the president, who has often criticized Whitmer, for responsibility.
“It is very unfortunate that she has been troubled not just directly by these threats, but a constant barrage of, frankly, incendiary criticism from the president, and I think that’s been very unfortunate,” Inslee said.