Bomb threats against Donald Trump Cabinet nominees

Bomb threats have been made against nominees for the Cabinet and White House team of US President-elect Donald Trump. The FBI said it was aware of "multiple bomb threats" and "harassment incidents." At least nine people were threatened with such threats on Tuesday night and Wednesday. The people threatened are Donald Trump's nominees.

The nominees are to lead the departments of Defense, Housing, Agriculture and Labor. The rest include the nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Police are investigating what happened over the two days. Trump’s transition team spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said Trump’s nominees and their families had been “victims of violent and un-American threats.” “Law enforcement quickly secured their safety,” she said. “President Trump is an example to us all. He has shown that dangerous threats and violence will not deter us,” she said. Neither Caroline Levitt nor the FBI have named any of the targets.

New York Republican Elise Stefanik, Trump's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was the first to report that her family home had been the target of a bomb threat. Her office said she was in a car with her husband and three-year-old son while traveling from Washington, D.C. to New York for Thanksgiving when the threat was made. Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth later said he had also been targeted. She wrote on social media X (formerly Twitter) that a police officer came to her home Wednesday morning to report a "credible pipe bomb threat." Her seven children were asleep at home at the time. "I will never be afraid or intimidated. Never," she wrote. "President Trump has called me to duty and that is what I will do." Donald Trump himself was the victim of two assassination attempts during his election campaign. However, law enforcement agencies told US media that he did not receive such hoax calls But he has also recently been the victim of threats, officials in Arizona said. There, a man posted videos almost daily threatening to kill Mr. Trump and his family. Later, police arrested the man earlier this week.

According to US media, none of those targeted this week were protected by the US Secret Service. Donald Trump's nominee to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, confirmed that he was also targeted. He said a "pipe bomb threat" with a "pro-Palestinian themed message" was sent to his home. "My family and I were not home at the time. We are safe now," he said. "We are grateful for the quick action of the local administration." Brooke Rollins, Mr. Trump's nominee to head the Agriculture Department, posted on X to thank the police in Fort Worth, Texas. Because the police “quickly investigated” the threats against his family. “We were unharmed and returned home quickly,” he wrote. Donald Trump’s nominee for Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner, and his nominee for Labor Secretary, Lori Chavez-Deremer, also posted on social media that they had been targeted. They each vowed that such threats would not deter them. US President Joe Biden was briefed on the incidents, the White House said in a statement. “The White House is in close contact with federal law enforcement and the president-elect’s team and is closely monitoring the situation.” The Capitol Police, which is responsible for security at the US Congress, said it was working with federal law enforcement on the “harassment” but did not elaborate to avoid a repeat of the threat.

Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from the nomination for US Attorney General, has also been targeted. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office in Florida confirmed that a bomb threat had been made at a home in Niceville. The mailbox at the home was then checked and no devices were found. Police said a subsequent search of the area turned up nothing. New York Police told the BBC's US affiliate CBS News that a threat had also been made at the New York home of Donald Trump's nominee for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Pam Bondi, who was chosen to replace Matt Gaetz as Trump's nominee, has also been targeted. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wills is also on the list. Fox News reported that Trump's nominee for CIA director John Ratcliffe had also been threatened. Similar hoaxes have been used against other political figures in recent times. Judges and prosecutors handling the criminal cases against Donald Trump have also been targeted. Last year, US politicians were harassed during Christmas. Most of them were Republicans, but some Democrats were also targeted.