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Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold pointed a finger squarely at Donald Trump and the GOP as causes of the spate of violent threats that election workers have faced, including herself.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Griswold said the atmosphere of political violence is a result of Trump and Republicans “who have not stood up to condemn the rhetoric of violence,” as well as baseless conspiracy theories about election workers rigging the vote.
These lies “have really incited a wave of political threats to election workers,” said Griswold, noting the high number of retirements and resignations among election workers, including in Colorado.
Griswold, who was a party in the lawsuit that led the Colorado Supreme Court to rule that Trump is ineligible for the state’s primary ballot, told HuffPost in late December that she had received dozens of death threats and more than 900 other threats of abuse since the lawsuit was filed.
Public officials have often become the target of Trump’s ire following a setback for him, whether legally or at the ballot box.
Public officials have often become the target of Trump’s ire following a setback for him, whether legally or at the ballot box. After the Colorado Supreme Court’s disqualification of the former president, the justices were subjected to a mass of violent threats on social media — often in response to his posts.
Trump also directed followers to Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ professional biography on his social media platform, Truth Social, after she decided that he is not eligible to appear on the state’s ballot. Bellows has said that she and her staff have received a flood of violent threats, and over the weekend her home was the target of a “swatting” call.
Griswold said Trump knew what would happen when he posted about her Maine counterpart.
“His rhetoric is dangerous,” she said. “And of course, I would say there was not a mistake — or he knew what he was doing when he posted on social media the biography of the Maine secretary of state. That led to intimidation and threats against her.”