A man from New Hampshire was accused of posing an interstate threat after he reportedly threatened to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in response to a text message sent by the campaign during an elevated period of political violence fear.
WHAT IS UNKNOWN TO US
Prosecutors claim in court documents that Anderson informed law enforcement that he had sent identical communications to several other campaigns after his detention; however, the specific campaigns are not named in the filings.
ESSENTIAL PREFACE
The 2024 presidential campaign is taking place against the backdrop of a number of high-profile violent incidents that have targeted American politicians and their families in recent years. These incidents include the riot that occurred on January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol, the home invasion and attack on the husband of former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year, and the shooting of Republican Congressman Steve Scalise in 2017. According to a recent University of Massachusetts-Amherst survey of over 300 former members of Congress, threats of violence against politicians are on the rise. According to the poll, 47% of Congressmen said they had received threats during their tenure, with those elected more recently reporting more threats than those elected earlier. Party differences in the figures were not very noticeable; however, women and persons of color reported threats at a significantly greater rate of 69%.
