The office of Richard Barron — elections director in Fulton County, Georgia — received "hundreds" of harassing messages following former President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims of county-wide voter fraud, Reuters reported Friday. Officials are concerned the "torrent" of widespread, ongoing intimidation will affect the recruitment and retention of valuable poll workers down the line.
Barron himself received "nearly 150 hateful calls" between Christmas and early January, some accusing him of treason or "saying he should die," per Reuters. One caller said he deserved to "hang" by his "goddamn, soy boy, skinny-ass neck," while another threatened to kill the official "by firing squad." With 22 years-worth of election experience, Barron said he "never expected that out of this country." A January email sent to officials in various Georgia counties even threatened to bomb polling sites, claiming "no one ... will be spared unless and until Trump is guaranteed to be POTUS again."
Staffers had it just as bad. Ralph Jones, Barron's registration chief, received racist death threats and messages, some going so far as to call him the n-word and say he should be shot. A separate caller once "threatened to kill him by dragging his body around with a truck," writes Reuters.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And high-ranking officials weren't immune, either. Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who continues to refute Trump's "big lie," and his wife Tricia have fielded a deluge of harassing messages, including multiple disturbing texts threatening their family, among other intimidation tactics.
Read more at Reuters.
-
‘The worry is far from fanciful’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are Americans bracing for the end of SNAP?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Millions depend on supplemental federal food funds that are set to expire this month, as the government shutdown begins to be acutely felt
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
No Kings rally: What did it achieve?Feature The latest ‘No Kings’ march has become the largest protest in U.S. history
-
Push for Ukraine ceasefire collapsesFeature Talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were called off after the Russian president refused to compromise on his demands
-
Trump eyes regime change in VenezuelaFeature Officials believe Trump’s ‘war on narco-terrorism’ is actually a push to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
‘Social media is the new tabloid’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are ICE’s recruitment woes complicating Trump’s immigration agenda?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Lowered training standards and ‘athletically allergic’ hopefuls are hindering the White House plan to turn the Department of Homeland Security into a federal police force
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
Donald Trump’s week in Asia: can he shift power away from China?Today's Big Question US president’s whirlwind week of diplomacy aims to bolster economic ties and de-escalate trade war with China
