Gaetz: Death threats surge, and FBI ‘more interested’ in those against Democrats

Death threats against lawmakers have been surging since the election, but a key House Republican and ally of former President Donald Trump said that the FBI is “more interested” in checking those against Democrats.

“We’re averaging several threats per day,” said Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

In a media call to discuss his upcoming trip to Wyoming to campaign against House GOP leader Rep. Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump, Gaetz said that there has been a “substantial increase of death threats” against members.

Gaetz decried any violence but suggested that the FBI has favored investigating threats against Democrats over Republicans.

“I have to take some note as to the fact that as I have seen the way some of these death threat waves come in to different factions of politics, the FBI seems to be a whole lot more interested in those levied against Democrats [than] those levied against me and my fellow Republicans. I know that wasn’t your question, but it was noteworthy to me,” said the lawmaker.

Apparently, the threats began to surge after the election and the pro-Trump protests in the Capitol. They have come against both parties and against those close or opposed to Trump.

Gaetz is very close to Trump and his family, including son Donald Trump Jr., who tweeted support for the lawmaker’s focus on ousting Cheney and the other nine Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump as he was winding down his term.

Gaetz said that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asked him to stop naming his GOP targets due to the death threats. He said he did but only for a day or two before again calling for Cheney’s ouster.

“After Liz became, more, I think, you know, problematic in her divergence from the perspective of the conference, it became untenable not to identify her as the key internal resistance within the Republican Party to the ‘America First’ vision,” he said.