DANGER ZONE
The January 6 uprising was definitely not a one-off for several Michigan politicians, as well as a jurist who made a few rulings that displeased the malcontents. Attorney general Dana Nessel has charged two men – one from Michigan, the other from Georgia – for targeting Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Rochester, Rochester Hills, northern Oakland, parts of Livingston and Ingham counties), and Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens, with threatening communications. Stabenow’s office received a voicemail the day before the mob attacked the U.S. Capital, as well as a threatening email which contained threatening remarks and vulgar language, Nessel said. Stephens received a threatening voicemail referring to “activist judges” issuing rulings to help Biden win the November 3 general election through the expanded use of mail-in ballots. Slotkin’s office received a couple of threatening calls, including one to a member of her staff on January 19 that lasted over an hour which threatened violence. “I want to thank Michigan State Police, the FBI, Capitol Police, and Attorney General Nessel for their attention to this case and for their commitment to taking violent threats seriously. This is not the first time violent threats have been directed at me or members of my team,” Slotkin said in a release. “While I can’t comment on the specifics of an ongoing case, there are two broad points that are clear: Myself and my colleagues in elected office, particularly women, are unfortunately no strangers to violent, threatening calls and comments – and it has got to stop. Not just for our safety and the safety of our staff, but for the health and functioning of our democracy. There can be no place in our system for using or threatening violence as a political tool, no matter who it comes from. We cannot allow threats to become normal.”