Like you, I am deeply disturbed by the Rep. Giffords shooting in Arizona. While the shooter clearly suffers from mental instability, the level of animosity in America towards public servants – from executive, legislative and judicial branches to Federal, state and local government – appears to be at an unprecedented high. But is the actual threatening of people’s lives and taking action on it becoming more common?
My friend and colleague Ed O’Keefe at The Washington Post asks the following question:
How often are government officials threatened?
Here’s an excerpt:
It is a federal crime to kill, assault, intimidate or interfere with federal employees performing official duties. As of Dec. 31, the Justice Department had filed such charges against 84 defendants during the fiscal year that began in September, according to department figures. It brought 320 cases against 352 defendants in fiscal 2010, up from 308 cases against 331 defendants in fiscal 2009.
Read the full story here.
Ed also reported the week before the Saturday shooting that U.S. Postal Service workers are being reminded to track for suspicious packages…targeted at them.
So I want to take this to another level:
Have you ever felt physically threatened while on the job?
Have you ever experienced verbal abuse in public settings
when you share that you are a government employee?
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