The many death threats to public officials are] one of the more disturbing realities of our time. Most of these people, often election officials or public health officials, are trying their best just to do their duty. But the threats continue, and have escalated. In brief, sadly, many of these threats are “perfectly legal.” I’ll explain why.
First, though, let’s check on how these threats have become a kind of epidemic amidst the pandemic.
In USA Today, journalist Dennis Wagner notes that escalating number of death threats to public officials:
Anyone making anonymous threats cannot be prosecuted or sued, but some threats are not anonymous. For example, take far right commentator Josh Bernstein.
“Let me tell you something, you sick, twisted garden gnome,” Bernstein says in the video below which was posted by the watchdog group by Right Wing Watch.
“Okay? Our rights don’t come from you. They don’t come from the NIH, they don’t come from the Center for disinformation control, they don’t come from the Wuhan Health Organization, and they certainly don’t come from this fraudulent extremist authoritarian regime government, either,” Bernstein declared, referring to the National Institutes of Health, and apparently the CDC , the World Health Organization, and the Biden administration.
“They come from God. That’s where they come from, and not you, or any government, or any intel person or agency is going to do anything about it,” he warned.
“You know, I’ve always said Patrick Henry had it half right: ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ Bullshit. Give me liberty or give you death. That’s right. Signed, sealed and fucking delivered. So all I got to say about that. Tread lightly.”
So, I wrote to Wagner, wondering if this clear death threat was protected by the First Amendment. He replied that it was “political speech,” and thus protected. In one article, Wagner wrote: “But legal experts say prosecutions are rare because of the difficulty deciding what counts as a true threat and court rulings meant to protect free speech.”
I am researching this now, but I can’t believe that “the Founding Fathers” appreciation for a free press and a robust public debate would embrace threats like these. But, for now, they are “perfectly legal,” do nothing to further serious policy debate, and are beyond moral bankruptcy. So, again, what we find is atrocious behavior that is “perfectly legal. . . but wrong.”