CNN Airs Graphic Threats Against Public Officials

CNN reports:

By the time the FBI first showed up at Kevin Patrick Smith’s home in early February, he’d already left dozens of threatening voice messages for US Senator Jon Tester. “You stand toe to toe with me, I rip your head off. You die.” All said, Smith left about 60 messages for Tester’s office.

When FBI agents returned to arrest Smith in late February, they confiscated four shotguns, five rifles, eight pistols, a home-made silencer and nearly 1,200 rounds of ammunition. Smith pleaded guilty to threatening to injure and murder a US Senator and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

His case is but a drop in a tidal wave of menacing behavior in recent years that has rattled the offices of public servants and is on a path to collide with what is shaping up to be the most politically toxic presidential election in modern memory. CNN reviewed more than 540 cases involving people who have been federally charged with making threats against public officials or institutions.

Read the full article. Listen to the threats here.

‘You’re Gonna Die, You Piece of Sh*t’: CNN Airs Profanity-Filled Segment on Death Threats to Public Officials https://t.co/dDAr0gDeXE

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) December 7, 2023