Bomb threats target Trump nominees, FBI says

WASHINGTON: Several members of Donald Trump’s incoming United States administration have received threats including bomb alerts, the FBI said on Wednesday (Nov 27), with one nominee reporting a pipe bomb scare sent with a pro-Palestinian message.
The President-elect’s picks for United Nations ambassador and head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as his former choice to be US attorney general, said they were among those who had received the threats.
“The FBI is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners,” the agency said in a statement.
Swatting refers to the practice in which police are summoned urgently to someone’s house under false pretences. Such hoax calls are common in the US and have seen numerous senior political figures targeted in recent years.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, earlier said that several appointees and nominees “were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them”.
Outgoing President Joe Biden “has been briefed” on the threats, the White House said.
“The White House is in touch with federal law enforcement and the President-elect’s team, and continues to monitor the situation closely,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“The president and the administration unequivocally condemn threats of political violence.”
Biden has vowed a smooth and peaceful presidential transition – in contrast to when Trump riled a mob that attacked the US Capitol in January 2021 with false claims of election fraud.
Elise Stefanik, a Trump loyalist congresswoman tapped to be UN ambassador, said her residence in New York was targeted in a bomb threat.
She said in a statement that she, her husband, and her small son were driving home from Washington for the Thanksgiving holiday when they learned of the threat.
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, said his home was targeted with a pipe bomb threat sent with a “pro-Palestinian themed message”.
The former congressman from New York said he and his family were not home at the time.
Matt Gaetz, who dropped out as Trump’s pick to be attorney general after facing opposition over sexual misconduct allegations, reposted Zeldin’s message on X and said: “Same”.
Scott Turner, the nomine for Housing Secretary and a retired NFL player, and Trump’s pick for Labor Secretary, meanwhile also said they had also received bomb threats at their homes.
Fox News Digital quoted unidentified sources saying that John Ratcliffe, Trump’s nominee to head the CIA, and Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary pick, were also targeted.
Ahead of his return to the House in January, Trump has already swiftly assembled a cabinet of loyalists, including several criticised for a severe lack of experience.
The Republican, who appears set to avoid trial on criminal prosecutions related to attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, was wounded in the ear in July in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally. The shooter was killed in a counter-fire.
In September, authorities arrested another man accused of planning to shoot at Trump while he played golf at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Leavitt appeared to reference the previous incidents, saying that “with President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us”.