The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are boosting safety measures for the 2024 election amid a growing wave of “attacks” on U.S. democracy.
Lawmakers have raised concerns about the integrity of U.S. elections, potential foreign interference and the safety of those running for office ahead of the November vote.
The DOJ’s warnings highlight how the two assassination attempts against former president Donald Trump have pushed political violence to the fore in this year’s election.
“The Department has no tolerance for violence and illegal threats of violence against public officials, government offices, and election infrastructure,” Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote on Friday. “These crimes are attacks on our democracy.”
In the letter, first obtained by Politico, Uriarte reiterated fears over the safety of this year’s presidential election and commented on the level of violence that has overshadowed the race.
“In recent years, we have seen a dangerous increase in threats of violence directed at election officials, workers, and volunteers, as well as to federal and state officials, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and other public servants.”
Newsweek has contacted the DOJ for further comment on the risks of election-related violence.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (C) accompanied from left, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division Matt Olsen, speaks during an Election Threats Task Force meeting at the Justice Department on September 4, 2024 in Washington, DC. In a letter sent on Friday, Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte reiterated concerns about election-related violence ahead of the 2024 vote.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Principal among these threats were the two attempts on the life of former President Donald Trump, which took place only 64 days apart.
Uriarte’s letter was addressed to Senators Amy Klobuchar, Mark Warner, Dick Durbin, Patty Murray and Gary Peters, who chair various Senate committees, including Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (Peters) and the Select Committee on Intelligence (Warner).
The five Senate committee heads had previously written to the DOJ and FBI, calling on the two bodies to put in place “the proper capabilities and resources” to combat threats including cyberattacks, foreign influence operations, as well as “physical violence against election workers and infrastructure.”
Uriarte attempted to assuage their concerns by listing off the various measures the FBI and DOJ had taken to address these threats and shore up security ahead of the November vote.
“In the past two years, the Department has prosecuted approximately 400 cases involving threats targeting public servants,” he wrote, citing a July case in which an Alabama man sent death threats to election workers ahead of the Maricopa County elections in Phoenix, Arizona.
Uriarte also referred to the August 6 case involving a Pakistani national, who was charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate Trump in retaliation for the 2020 targeted killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
In the immediate wake of the first assassination attempt on Trump on July 13, Uriarte also claimed that the FBI has conducted an “extensive and thorough investigation,” involving nearly 100 interviews in the first 48 hours following the Butler, Pennsylvania rally.
Looking ahead to November, he promised to “allocate additional resources to expand and coordinate our work.”
Each FBI field office will be linked with an “Elections Crime Coordinator,” a program designed to engage with local, state and federal partners to both investigate and address potential threats to election workers.
During the Super Tuesday Primaries in March, the bureau set up a National Election Command Post, providing a centralized location for dealing with election-related threats, a practice Uriarte said will be repeated in the run-up to November 5.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on September 18, 2024 in Uniondale, New York. Uriarte claims that the FBI held nearly 100 in the first 48 hours following the July 13 assassination attempt, citing this as evidence of the bureau’s focus on stemming election-related violence.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Commenting on the increasing concerns over foreign election interference by Russia, China and Iran, Uriarte said that the DOJ “acts every day” to combat the “redoubled efforts by foreign malign actors to spread disinformation, sow discord, and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.”
He highlighted the work of the Foreign Influence Task Force, established by FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2017, which integrates the work of multiple bureau divisions, while also working with private sector to share intelligence and tackle foreign-influence operations.
However, Uriarte also highlighted domestic threats to the integrity of American elections, specifically those impacting citizens’ right to vote.
He claims that there has been an increasing occurrence of officials and policymakers “violat[ing] election and civil rights statutes” through limiting access to the ballot and “weaken[ing] the protections of the Voting Rights Act.”
Uriarte cites the case of an Oklahoma agency failing to effectively provide opportunities for voters to register, as well as the October 2023 case in which Galveston County, Texas was found to have violated the Voting Rights Act by removing the right of Black and Latino voters to join in so-called “coalition districts” to elect a candidate of their choice after redistricting in 2021.
In response, he said that the DOJ had doubled the size of its Civil Rights Division’s voting rights enforcement staff since 2021, and engaged in efforts to promote compliance with civil rights laws during elections.
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