As Utah political threats rise, security measures becoming tighter, says DPS
Jul 15, 2024, 8:48 PM | Updated: Jul 16, 2024, 6:01 am
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jess Anderson says it takes more than just security measures, which he feels confident about in this state, to prevent violence against politicians.
Anderson said it also takes the American people to say enough is enough.
Locally, threats against President Joe Biden last August left one Provo man dead.
A state senator’s home was vandalized a few months prior, and a group picketing outside the home of the state epidemiologist in 2020 brought about a change in state law.
“I feel like in our country today, we’ve gotten really, really good at tearing things down,” said Gov. Spencer Cox, speaking over the weekend at the National Governors Association following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
The attempted assassination created a flurry of concerns about our political climate.
Anderson said, “You know, it’s yet to be seen what that level of concern is when it comes to our elected officials, but I can tell you, they’re all very well aware of it.”
Threats on the rise
Anderson said threats against state officials continue to climb year over year.
From 2021 through 2023, the department investigated an average of 99 cases per year.
“Eighty-two already this year,” Anderson said, “and we’re only halfway through the year.”
The department consistently communicates with outside agencies and officials to plan security for events, Anderson said, adding they work quite well together.
“We all have a role to play,” he said, “and we coordinate and communicate very effectively.”
However, he says it’s a fine line balancing event security while still guaranteeing access to the public.
When asked whether the assassination attempt over the weekend in Pennsylvania could provide a lesson for law enforcement in tightening their measures, he said, “We’ll see, but understanding that, for the next while and getting through this rest of this year in elections, that’s going to be very, very stiff and very rigid security presence.”
The FBI field office in Salt Lake City also says they’ve investigated a rising number of threats and they say a rise in hoax threats has wasted valuable resources.
Their full statement:
“While the mission of the FBI remains the same — protect the American people and uphold the Constitution — it has become a bigger responsibility in recent years as the volume of certain threats increases. As a country and organization, we have seen an increase in threats of violence targeting government officials and institutions, houses of worship, schools, and medical facilities, just to name a few. The FBI takes all potential threats seriously and works closely with our law enforcement partners to determine their credibility, share information, and take appropriate investigative action. When the threats are made as a hoax, it puts innocent people at risk, ties up law enforcement’s limited resources, and wastes taxpayer’s money. The FBI and our state and local partners will continue to aggressively pursue perpetrators of these threats – real or hoax – and hold them accountable.”