Death threats to politicians up... wtf is wrong with people?
blackredyellow
Posts: 5,889
I get that people are hyper-partisan or just so worked up in a frenzy over specific legislation/votes, but what the fuck is wrong with people that they think threatening legislators is going to solve anything or sway their votes?
Exclusive: FBI details surge in death threats against lawmakers
By: Erika Lovley
May 25, 2010 04:43 AM EDT
I voted for you,” the caller said in a voice mail to Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler’s district office. “If you vote for that stimulus package, I’m gonna kill you. Simple as that.”
The FBI says the caller was a 70-year-old resident of Shuler’s North Carolina district with a history of mental illness and a cache of guns. In the weeks before calling Shuler’s office, the FBI says, the caller beat and choked his wife. She told the FBI that she’d tried to clear her home of guns — and that she went to bed at night with a can of mace tucked under her pillow.
When agents showed up at the man’s door, they asked him why he’d threatened to kill Shuler.
“I was trying to work the political scene,” he said.
The threat against Shuler is one of several detailed in 2009 FBI documents provided to POLITICO pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) were threatened with assassination. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) were threatened with bodily harm. Someone told Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) that her throat would be cut. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) was told someone would physically “f—- her up” if she held a town hall meeting in her district, according to the FBI files.
There may have been more threats — the FBI won’t release information on investigations that are still open — and there will likely be more this year; Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer says threats against members of Congress were up 300 percent in the first few months of 2010.
FBI agents arrested the North Carolina man who threatened Shuler, and prosecutors charged him with threatening to kill a federal official — a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Court records show that the case was dropped after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
Shuler says he was shaken — and that he has taken precautions to protect himself and his family. Family members have altered their daily routines to be more security conscious, and Shuler said that he and his wife have obtained concealed-weapons permits.
“You get a threat like that, and you start to rethink your priorities,” Shuler said.
Though each threat case is different, the FBI documents reveal some common characteristics. The suspects are mostly men who own guns, and several had been treated for mental illness. Most of the suspects had just undergone some kind of major life stress, such as illness or the loss of a job.
In February 2009, a man left voice mail messages for Stabenow in several of her Michigan offices.
“We’re gonna [expletive] get you,” he said in one message. “We’re gonna get you with a lot of [expletive] bolt action. Like we did RFK; like we did MLK. We know who you are. We’ll get you.”
FBI agents tracked the calls to a 54-year-old Texas man who lived alone — and who at one time had owned a 20-gun arsenal of handguns, shotguns and rifles. According to the documents, he told officers that he was “really, really drunk” when he made the calls. He said he was just “venting” — taking out his frustrations after hearing a discussion of the Fairness Doctrine and becoming concerned that the government would attempt to abolish the radio shows of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.
In testimony submitted to Congress, Capitol Police officials have said that the threats against lawmakers have caused them to dramatically increase their security efforts. Police who work on protective details say demands on their time have skyrocketed, and the department has requested a 54 percent increase — of $2.7 million — to fund travel for its dignitary protection officers in fiscal year 2011.
In fiscal year 2009, dignitary protection was provided at 139 congressional events, a nearly 100 percent increase over 2008. Capitol Police also moved to provide “a more robust role” to town hall meetings, including working with hundreds of law enforcement agencies.
Capitol Police made 3,626 mountain bike patrols around House and Senate office buildings, up from 3,500 from fiscal year 2008. They responded to 142 suspicious packages in 2009, compared with only 34 in 2008, and conducted 1,808 bomb sweeps, compared with 970 the year before.
The Hazardous Materials Response Team investigated an average of 38 suspicious package calls per quarter last year, compared with 32 per quarter in 2008. The team conducted 967 sweeps per quarter to ensure the security of areas where congressional meetings and sessions were being held — up from 142 each quarter in 2008. The department also dealt with 13 disturbances or demonstrations, five more than during the previous year.
“When an incident like the one in Times Square happens, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” said Gainer, who recently attended a nationwide sergeant at arms meeting at which state officials were urged to put plans in place to accommodate congressional town hall meetings this summer.
“We have about 12 open cases at any given time, but most of those are relatively low threat, meaning there’s no specificity to them,” Gainer said. “But if there’s a serious threat, we’re going to have a pretty stern response.”
Law enforcement responded immediately when Ryan was threatened back home in Wisconsin. The lawmaker was out walking with his daughter when a black sport utility vehicle pulled up alongside them. “You’ve got a bull’s-eye on your head,” the driver allegedly told Ryan. “You’re gonna die, motherf---er.”
Local police records show that the driver believed Ryan had “blood on his hands” for supporting the war in Iraq. He told police that he was on disability for arthritis and that he felt “frustrated” that he could no longer support his family, the documents show.
“Congressman Ryan told me that although they receive threats quite often, this one was more specific and directed,” a Janesville police detective wrote in his report.
The man was arrested for disorderly conduct, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute him after a search of his home revealed no weapons, according to FBI documents.
Last September, the documents show that a veteran in a counseling session said he wanted to “kill everyone who does not help me” — and that he included in the list Cornyn, Rodriguez and first lady Michelle Obama. When police checked on the man, they found that he was frustrated that those individuals hadn’t helped him with a retirement claim process through the Office of Policy and Management.
According to the documents, he admitted to police that he was taking “too many medications to list” for mental health problems that included depression, anxiety and a sleep disorder. He was out of work and on disability. The man’s wife had hidden his collection of shotguns and handguns and wouldn’t let him drive the family car, fearing he would pay a visit to Rodriguez, according to FBI files.
“Veteran verbalized not knowing what he would do other than something that would get him locked up,” the responding detective wrote. “That he would get a gun and shoot everyone involved.”
With the exception of Shuler, the lawmakers identified in the FBI reports declined to discuss the threats. Their offices said they wanted to move beyond the incidents and stay focused on their work.
“We’re not going to be frightened. We’re just going to go on with our lives and keep doing our jobs. We don’t want to be defined by this,” a Lofgren staffer said. “They don’t control this. We do.”
But the threats clearly have an effect — if not on how members do their jobs, at least on how they live their lives.
“The first time you get a death threat, it’s really, really alarming, not to mention they know where you live and can find your family,” Shuler said. “It is very difficult when you serve in public office.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37726.html
Exclusive: FBI details surge in death threats against lawmakers
By: Erika Lovley
May 25, 2010 04:43 AM EDT
I voted for you,” the caller said in a voice mail to Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler’s district office. “If you vote for that stimulus package, I’m gonna kill you. Simple as that.”
The FBI says the caller was a 70-year-old resident of Shuler’s North Carolina district with a history of mental illness and a cache of guns. In the weeks before calling Shuler’s office, the FBI says, the caller beat and choked his wife. She told the FBI that she’d tried to clear her home of guns — and that she went to bed at night with a can of mace tucked under her pillow.
When agents showed up at the man’s door, they asked him why he’d threatened to kill Shuler.
“I was trying to work the political scene,” he said.
The threat against Shuler is one of several detailed in 2009 FBI documents provided to POLITICO pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) were threatened with assassination. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) were threatened with bodily harm. Someone told Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) that her throat would be cut. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) was told someone would physically “f—- her up” if she held a town hall meeting in her district, according to the FBI files.
There may have been more threats — the FBI won’t release information on investigations that are still open — and there will likely be more this year; Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer says threats against members of Congress were up 300 percent in the first few months of 2010.
FBI agents arrested the North Carolina man who threatened Shuler, and prosecutors charged him with threatening to kill a federal official — a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Court records show that the case was dropped after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
Shuler says he was shaken — and that he has taken precautions to protect himself and his family. Family members have altered their daily routines to be more security conscious, and Shuler said that he and his wife have obtained concealed-weapons permits.
“You get a threat like that, and you start to rethink your priorities,” Shuler said.
Though each threat case is different, the FBI documents reveal some common characteristics. The suspects are mostly men who own guns, and several had been treated for mental illness. Most of the suspects had just undergone some kind of major life stress, such as illness or the loss of a job.
In February 2009, a man left voice mail messages for Stabenow in several of her Michigan offices.
“We’re gonna [expletive] get you,” he said in one message. “We’re gonna get you with a lot of [expletive] bolt action. Like we did RFK; like we did MLK. We know who you are. We’ll get you.”
FBI agents tracked the calls to a 54-year-old Texas man who lived alone — and who at one time had owned a 20-gun arsenal of handguns, shotguns and rifles. According to the documents, he told officers that he was “really, really drunk” when he made the calls. He said he was just “venting” — taking out his frustrations after hearing a discussion of the Fairness Doctrine and becoming concerned that the government would attempt to abolish the radio shows of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.
In testimony submitted to Congress, Capitol Police officials have said that the threats against lawmakers have caused them to dramatically increase their security efforts. Police who work on protective details say demands on their time have skyrocketed, and the department has requested a 54 percent increase — of $2.7 million — to fund travel for its dignitary protection officers in fiscal year 2011.
In fiscal year 2009, dignitary protection was provided at 139 congressional events, a nearly 100 percent increase over 2008. Capitol Police also moved to provide “a more robust role” to town hall meetings, including working with hundreds of law enforcement agencies.
Capitol Police made 3,626 mountain bike patrols around House and Senate office buildings, up from 3,500 from fiscal year 2008. They responded to 142 suspicious packages in 2009, compared with only 34 in 2008, and conducted 1,808 bomb sweeps, compared with 970 the year before.
The Hazardous Materials Response Team investigated an average of 38 suspicious package calls per quarter last year, compared with 32 per quarter in 2008. The team conducted 967 sweeps per quarter to ensure the security of areas where congressional meetings and sessions were being held — up from 142 each quarter in 2008. The department also dealt with 13 disturbances or demonstrations, five more than during the previous year.
“When an incident like the one in Times Square happens, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” said Gainer, who recently attended a nationwide sergeant at arms meeting at which state officials were urged to put plans in place to accommodate congressional town hall meetings this summer.
“We have about 12 open cases at any given time, but most of those are relatively low threat, meaning there’s no specificity to them,” Gainer said. “But if there’s a serious threat, we’re going to have a pretty stern response.”
Law enforcement responded immediately when Ryan was threatened back home in Wisconsin. The lawmaker was out walking with his daughter when a black sport utility vehicle pulled up alongside them. “You’ve got a bull’s-eye on your head,” the driver allegedly told Ryan. “You’re gonna die, motherf---er.”
Local police records show that the driver believed Ryan had “blood on his hands” for supporting the war in Iraq. He told police that he was on disability for arthritis and that he felt “frustrated” that he could no longer support his family, the documents show.
“Congressman Ryan told me that although they receive threats quite often, this one was more specific and directed,” a Janesville police detective wrote in his report.
The man was arrested for disorderly conduct, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office decided not to prosecute him after a search of his home revealed no weapons, according to FBI documents.
Last September, the documents show that a veteran in a counseling session said he wanted to “kill everyone who does not help me” — and that he included in the list Cornyn, Rodriguez and first lady Michelle Obama. When police checked on the man, they found that he was frustrated that those individuals hadn’t helped him with a retirement claim process through the Office of Policy and Management.
According to the documents, he admitted to police that he was taking “too many medications to list” for mental health problems that included depression, anxiety and a sleep disorder. He was out of work and on disability. The man’s wife had hidden his collection of shotguns and handguns and wouldn’t let him drive the family car, fearing he would pay a visit to Rodriguez, according to FBI files.
“Veteran verbalized not knowing what he would do other than something that would get him locked up,” the responding detective wrote. “That he would get a gun and shoot everyone involved.”
With the exception of Shuler, the lawmakers identified in the FBI reports declined to discuss the threats. Their offices said they wanted to move beyond the incidents and stay focused on their work.
“We’re not going to be frightened. We’re just going to go on with our lives and keep doing our jobs. We don’t want to be defined by this,” a Lofgren staffer said. “They don’t control this. We do.”
But the threats clearly have an effect — if not on how members do their jobs, at least on how they live their lives.
“The first time you get a death threat, it’s really, really alarming, not to mention they know where you live and can find your family,” Shuler said. “It is very difficult when you serve in public office.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37726.html
My whole life
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
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Comments
Godfather.
This is why we need to revert to a monarchy or something. At least that way the people know who's head needs to roll in order to enact some change. With the American hydra, what do you do? Cut off ten heads and twenty more will take its place.
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It would be great if there was a way that like every few years we could elect someone else to represent us, thus getting rid of the self-serving, greedy politicians that we have...
oh, wait...
nevermind
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
that's funny, heath shuler is my congressman! he's a shmuck, though, and used talking points written by lobbyists to argue against the health care reform
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
+1 :thumbup:
Godfather.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
To try and compare mental illness or murders to the Tea Party is so off base it made me laugh!
they are not getting their way so they are puffing out their chests and threatening and trying to intimidate people. it is NOT acceptable. this is the same thing the teabaggers were doing at the healthcare townhalls,trying to intimidate and silence those they disagreed with and impose their will so their rep or senator votes the way they want them to. you can have no civil discourse when one party is trying to sway the outcome with threats of violence and it undermines the democratic process.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
so how does the original post equate to the TEA PARTY at ALL?
Duh, because the Tea Party using all caps to try and intimidate others into believing their viewpoints.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Calm down. You can't intimidate me!!!! YOU CAN'T INTIMIDATE ME!!!!!!
I'm just messin with ya.
maybe people are getting pissed off and fed up, that also happens when they see the things they love or have enjoyed taken or destroyed, some of your posts and others on here...me included are a great example of what you just said..we don't agree and we get mad,we don't make threats but we do verbally attack each other.
some people have a greater taste for blood than others..but we all have it in one way or another and I don't mean blood literally but willingness to defend or attack,when everyone is right who is wrong ?
Godfather.
i will freely admit it, i have a short fuse when it comes to people taking what i say out of context and asking stupid questions of me when i clearly explain my points. that is why i bolded and underlined the points in my prior post. she has asked me the same questions 100 times about the tea party and plays completely ignorant when i have on countless occasions provided evidence and links to articles and even video from which my opinions are based. it does not take a rocket scientist to draw parallels between groups of people employing similar tactics of intimidation and threats to lawmakers in order to advance their agenda.. i had clearly made a point and i got frustrated by how she responded to it. and to answer your question of when everyone is right who is wrong, please refer to my sig. that is why i put it on there because i feel the exact same way you do.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
The point is politicians are criminals. they should be thrown in jail and frankly tried hung and shot. all of them.
Until our boys and girls come home from the war, we need to burn down every senator and comgresspersons office, and demand they end the war.
We need to overwhelm obama at every single speech he gives. everytime he takes a breath to speak we yell, "when are you ending the war".
Certainly, the war is a pressing issue, but so is the job market. These politicians are millionaires, not a single one of them, not one last rich white one of them has done squat or cares about the disturbing situation economy wise beyond their own portfolios which are doing pretty well.
Politicians are useless as is electoral politics. Once one comes to that solution its not a large leap to demand we throw the bums out now.
sending 18 year olds to die in iraq or afghanistan, that action, means I dont respect you, and you are my enemy.
Action needs to be taken. plain and simple. what needs to be done, needs to be done.
I wish I could be more specific of what is being destroyed or taken away but to different people it's different thing's,for me it's just tax's and the cost of living out here in SD along with job out sourcing it's turning into a day to day struggle to stay in California for a lot of people like myself that have deep roots here...so people get angry wrong or right they feel their right,also I have noticed the most people don't like change,they like the way their life was and don't want change forced on them so they get angry.
Godfather.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
1. AT LEAST 105,117* Iraqi civilians' lives *(documented deaths only - we know that reasonable estimates are much higher)
2. AT LEAST 4400 U.S. Soldiers' lives
3. The civil liberties of hundreds of millions of humans
4. Over a trillion U.S. dollars
There are four specific things that have been destroyed. While there are many more, at least these four are absolutely unarguable yet I have a feeling you'll still give it a shot.
so OBAMA and every member of this congress caused all of this? where were you in 2002 and 2003 when BUSH and HIS REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED HOUSE AND SENATE put us on the train track that resulted in those 4 points you make? yes obama and the current congress have continued it, but they did not cause it. we are drawing down in iraq so that is a start. the rest of it is just fucked...
and i seriously doubt that the people threatening congress members are doing so because of any of the above mentioned points...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Ummm..one of the examples in the article specifically says the guy threatened an official because he felt he had "blood on his hands" from the war.
While Obama claims to have been against the war from the start, many of his pals voted for it. And if he were so against it, why are we still there? It certainly seems that if he were against the war he would end it.
This has nothing to do with Republican vs. Democrat. Many who voted for the war, supported the war and STILL support the war are still in office. And those who are new to office since this shit began are doing little to nothing to try and end it.
if you are going to answer for godfather will you please answer what people have lost or had destroyed in this country, and what taxes have to do with it?
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Secondly, I believe I already answered your question of what has been lost or destroyed in this country. In addition to my previous response, and if you want to know how this impacts me on a personal level - I pay taxes in the U.S. Those taxes are being used for mass killing, illegal spying, illegal holding of prisoners, illegal interrogating, illegal torturing. I feel invested in this country. I pay taxes. I vote. I give a shit. It angers me. It confuses me. And most of all it saddens me.
If you ask me, some of these people are lucky to just receive threats. Many of them are criminals who have committed heinous crimes against humanity.
was obama really ever against the war?? i guess it depends on who he was talking to....when he spoke to liberals he called it a dumb war, when he spoke to conservatives he said the main reason he was against the war in iraq was because we weren't finished in afghanistan yet but if it's a dumb war isn't if we were done or not in afghanistan a moot point?
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank." - Barack Obama
when you told me 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'
i was thinkin 'death before dishonor'
some people can justify anything...
as to wtf is wrong with people?
answer: lots...just read this thread...
it all comes down to a few thing's, money freedom and keeping what is yours.
to many people the gov. fed and state have taken their right to earn and keep,they don't want to pay for the welfare and well being for someone that will not work to take care of them selfs "spreading the wealth ? whats that all about ?
you may not agree or even understand, but stuff like this; when I was a kid we had a neighbor who was building a small block wall in front of his house when the city came up to him and asked for a permit and if he did not have it he would be fined and forced to remove the wall.the guy got pissed and told the city guy "I fought in wwII and I've bought and paid for this hose it's mine get the hell off my property !.. city fined him and took down his small wall.
just things like this piss off people,they feel they are being screwed by the gov.
Godfather.