Arizona secretary of state decries threats to election officials as ‘domestic terrorism’

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, has denounced the growing threats against election officials as “domestic terrorism” and said he and others in his office are working with law enforcement agencies across the country to address the issue.

“And if you think back to what we were just talking about, one of the ways that I’ve looked at and addressed this issue is by speaking some really hard truths,” Fontes said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” an episode set to air Sunday.

“So any threat against United States election officials is domestic terrorism,” he continued. “Terrorism is defined as intimidation or violence to pursue a political outcome, and that is what this is.”

He was one of four secretaries of state to appear on “Meet the Press,” a bipartisan panel that discussed threats to democracy, along with Sens. Jocelyn Benson of Michigan, Brad Raffensperger of Georgia and Al Schmidt of Pennsylvania.

Fontes’ comments come amid growing fears about the safety of local election workers ahead of the November election, with nearly four in 10 local election workers having been harassed, threatened or abused while on the job, according to a Brennan Center for Justice study released earlier this month.

Law enforcement officials are working to ensure the safety of election workers in Arizona, a key presidential battleground state, after workers in the Grand Canyon State faced threats and harassment during the 2020 general election.

“I think the Department of Justice is really stepping up its investigations and beginning to bring charges,” Fontes said. “We’re working with law enforcement agencies across the country to really start to get serious about these issues. It’s not too late, it’s not too little, but we have to get serious about this issue.”

Arizona was one of seven states that sent out a slate of “alternate electors” in the hope that they would be recognized as “duly chosen” without any evidence, in order to get then-Vice President Mike Pence to endorse the “alternate electors” who supported Trump over a candidate who supported Biden.

Fontes said the threats have certainly affected him and his family, but more needs to be done to remove him “from his position.”

“Like you said, it’s not just affecting us, it’s affecting our families,” he said, “but it’s not just our families. You know, when you have to tell your neighbors, ‘Hey, be careful. If something happens, your kids might have to come over,’ or prepare an emergency bag, or do a lot of these things that so many people across the country are struggling with, that’s a problem.”