Anonymous bomb threats and “backlash” threaten the free exchange of ideas

Ideally, public policy is determined through reasoned debate, not through threats of violence.

A series of reported threats in recent days — first against some of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees and other appointees and then against Democratic lawmakers — is taking the country even further in the wrong direction.

National investigative agencies should step up their threat detection efforts to the point where would-be threats have good reason to fear they will be caught. It is up to everyone else to speak out against the destructive influence of anonymous bullying.

On Thanksgiving, at least five Connecticut Democratic lawmakers said they received bomb threats while celebrating with their families at home. Earlier in the day, several Cabinet picks and Trump administration appointees were the targets of similar bomb threats or strikes, according to Trump’s transition team.

Swatting is making a fake 911 call to get a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team or other police units to show up at a victim’s home, believing a serious crime is taking place.

A man wearing a sports coat and a button-down shirt. — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. was among the Connecticut lawmakers who received bomb threats on Thanksgiving Day.

Although no one was injured, these incidents are more than just annoying. Earlier, police officers were wounded on the way to the scene. Innocent victims of beatings had minor heart attacks. Costs of unnecessary mobilization are a burden on the public purse.

A hit can also be fatal if the police misinterpret the reaction of an innocent target. It is also possible that responses to future legitimate emergencies may be delayed while responders consider whether the threat they are receiving is legitimate.

A man in a suit and tie gestures with his right hand as he speaks into a microphone while sitting on a podium. — Former U.S. House of Representatives member Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, was the victim of two attacks in 2011.

Being beaten up can be a terrifying experience. Earlier this year, former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., described two cases of beating in 2011 at his apartment in Washington, D.C., police later told him it was a case of mistaken identity.

“The shock and potential danger to me and my neighbors in the building during the police operation was significant,” Kinzinger wrote on CNN.com.

Intimidation of deputies

In addition, threats can influence the actions and votes of legislators. After the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Rep. Jason Crowe, D-Colo., said some Republicans in the House of Representatives told him they would not vote to impeach Trump because they were frightened by the threats they had received.

This is no way to run a government. How many other people have been muzzled by fear?

Bomb threats and fighting are not necessarily simple crimes to solve. Using the technology, criminals can make 911 calls appear to be falsely coming from someone who is actually a victim of a hit and run.

Such threats have been heard for some time. Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows was assassinated on December 29 providing a conclusion that Trump was ineligible to run in her state because of his role in the January 6 uprising. In March, SWAT forces forced Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft out of his home with his hands up.

According to the Associated Press, those targeted this year and last year included Georgia Lt. Gov. Bert Jones, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, as well as two judges hearing cases against Trump.

A woman wearing a blazer and blouse is standing in front of a microphone. — US Representative Elise Stefanik, chosen by President-elect Donald Trump for the post of ambassador to the United Nations, recently became the victim of a bomb threat.

And not only legislators are threatened. A bomb threat in Springfield, Ohio — following verbal attacks on Haitian immigrants in that city — sent parents scrambling in September to pick up their children from two elementary schools. Last year, some libraries in Illinois temporarily closed due to bomb threats during a heated debate over what books should be on library shelves.

People who make anonymous threats of violence are like reckless drivers speeding dangerously through traffic lanes. If they think they can get away with it, they will continue to do so, possibly leading to horrific accidents.

Law enforcement agencies should ensure that people who make bomb threats or fake 911 calls are apprehended as soon as possible, and courts should require certain offenders to pay fines that are proportionate to the harm caused and sufficient to deter such behavior in the future.

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