House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for “maximum protection” for members of Congress and their families after a spate of bomb threats against House Democrats over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“It is imperative that Congress provides the maximum protection possible for all members and their families going forward,” Brooklyn's office said in a statement Friday.
“America is a democracy. Threats of violence against elected officials are unacceptable, unconscionable, and have no place in a civilized society. All perpetrators of political violence directed against any political party… and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
At least 10 of President-elect Donald Trump's potential candidates were attacked earlier this month with what incoming press secretary Caroline Leavitt called “violent and un-American threats against their lives.”
Among those threatened were Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the incoming U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Lee Zeldin, the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In a recent incident, the entire Connecticut Democratic Congressional delegation received a bomb threat signed “MAGA,” an apparent reference to President-elect Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Jeffries said the individual threats ranged from being beaten to detailed threats to plant pipe bombs in mailboxes.
