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Washington DC, USA
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday (Dec 25) said it was investigating threats being made against the Colorado Supreme Court justices who ruled last week that ex-President Donald Trump was ineligible to become a presidential candidate.
“The FBI is aware of the situation and working with local law enforcement,” FBI Public Affairs Officer Vikki Migoya said in a statement.
“We will vigorously pursue investigations of any threat or use of violence committed by someone who uses extremist views to justify their actions regardless of motivation,” he added.
A spokesperson for the Colorado Judicial Branch said the threats would be handled by local police authorities, without giving any further explanation.
‘Hoax report’
Meanwhile, the Denver Police Department (DPD) said it responded to a report by a justice’s residence Thursday evening (Dec 21) but it appeared to be a “hoax.”
Watch: Donald Trump barred from Colorado ballot
“Everything checked clear and we are continuing to investigate this report. Due to security and privacy considerations, and the ongoing investigation, we are unable to provide any additional information at this time,” DPD said in a statement.
Online threats against judges
According to a report by CNN, the names of the four judges who ruled against Trump constantly keep cropping up in incendiary posts online, often made on far-right groups and platforms.
However, the report, prepared by one non-partisan research organisation for US law enforcement agencies, did not mention about any specific threats to the judges.
Earlier, a report by Advance Democracy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organisation that conducts public interest research, claimed to have found "significant violent rhetoric" against the justices and Democrats on the Trump-owned social media platform Truth Social.
They found that some social media users posted justices' email addresses, phone numbers and office building addresses, reports NBC News.
What was the controversial ruling?
The four judges ruled last week, in a 4-3 judgment, that Trump is not qualified to run for the presidency in the 2024 presidential elections because of the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban” and therefore can’t appear on the state’s ballot when voters gather for the GOP primary scheduled there for March 5.
(With inputs from agencies)