Secret Service says number of threats against president 'overwhelming'

[babylonsister]

This makes my heart hurt.

http://mynorthwest.com/11/728028/Secret-Service-Number-of-Obama-threats-overwhelming

Secret Service says number of threats against president 'overwhelming'
By Brandi Kruse
97.3 KIRO FM
The U.S. Secret Service field office in Seattle responds to threats against the President of the United States daily. They call the sheer number "overwhelming."



When a Federal Way man accused of threatening to kill President Barack Obama makes a scheduled appearance in court Monday, the Secret Service in Seattle will likely be busy responding to new threats against POTUS, and others under their protection.

According to the U.S. Secret Service field office in Seattle, agents here respond to multiple threats each day.

"Our goal and our mandate is to immediately respond to any direct threat against the president, the first family, any other Secret Service protectees such as the vice president, or visiting heads of state," said Bob Kierstead, assistant special agent in charge of the Seattle field office.

snip//

Kierstead said many of those who make such threats are mentally ill, and it is the goal of the Secret Service to find them help. It can be "sobering," he said, when agents show up at their door.

"It can be upsetting, but any type of threat against the president is a violation of federal law," he said.

According to the Secret Service, the president is the most threatened person in the U.S., regardless of political party. He is not made aware of all threats against him, however, because Kierstead said the "sheer number would be overwhelming and, frankly, distracting."

[davidpdx]

1. I just posted in another thread about this a few hours ago

That gal on Twitter that made the remark the other day doesn't have a Twitter account anymore and the Secret Service paid the family a visit. Good job Twitter for closing down her account!

[Heather MC]

2. She didn't get hauled in?

There was a black guy in North Carolina making Twitter threat he was arrested. They should have handcuffed her smart mouth tail and thrown her in the back of a police car and taken her for a ride downtown.

[davidpdx]

5. Nope, she wasn't

From the way the report sounded it was the school that notified the Secret Service, but I have no doubt plenty of other people called them as well. The school district apologized, but there was no apology from the family or the teenager who sent the Tweet.

Aside from not going to school today (oh, big punishment) I guess it's up to her family to decide how she's punished. Maybe they should start by taking her cell phone and computer away, and grounding her indefinitely.

Edit: Crap I forgot the link. Old age sucks.

http://www.wlwt.com/news/local-news/WLWT-News/Teen-won-t-be-charged-over-Twitter-threat-to-Obama/-/10448006/16526056/-/xbbc80/-/index.html

[Jackpine Radical]

26. Why would the parents want to punish her?

She was just enacting what she was no doubt taught at home.

[jberryhill]

28. Because no 16 year old ever rebelled against her parents?

[Jackpine Radical]

37. The WAY in which they rebel is often very telling

about the home environment.

[davidpdx]

30. No, I was saying that's the only possible punishment she could face

given it sounds like she was cleared by the Secret Service, the police and the school. Which we don't really know what that will be. You are right it could be nothing.

[heaven05]

34. HUUUMPFFF

OF COURSE NO ARREST, NO CHARGES FOR HER OR FAMILY

[Cha]

60. I hope An Apology is forthcoming..otherwise,

That's saying a lot, right there.

[Bjorn Against]

39. The guy in NC said he was personally going to kill Obama

This girl did not say she was going to kill him, she suggested someone else should. Such statements will get you a visit from the Secret Service who will scare the living hell out of anyone but they usually don't prosecute unless there is a specific threat like there was in the NC case.

[davidn3600]

40. It needs to be a direct threat...

That guy in North Carolina made a specific threat that he HIMSELF was going to assassinate Obama at the DNC convention.

The teen girl in Ohio basically said she wishes someone would do it. She made no indication that she herself was going to kill the president or knew of any plot to do so.

[Scuba]

3. You can blame Beck, Limbaugh and the guy who they work for...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Before this year, threats against Obama were already running FOUR (4) times previous Presidents. nt

[tavalon]

65. Presidenting while black?

Is it that he's a Democrat or a black Democrat or something else entirely?

[madokie]

6. Sobering to say the least

I worry for our President when he is trying not to live in a bubble.
Lot of crazy people. Lot of guns out there, some unsecured and its those unsecured guns getting in the hands of the crazies that really worry me. I'm all for sane people owning guns but not so crazy about the nuts having them. Who determines the nuts, I have no idea and do not purport to know the answers. All I can do is voice my fears. Crazy people and guns don't mix too well. Most crazy people I've come in contact with seem to be scared so they aren't as likely to pick up a knife and try to kill someone as they can be when its a gun in their hands where they don't have to make physical contact. I see that as can be embolden to some of the crazies, give them courage they don't really have. My personal opinion and I'm entitled to that. We can discuss but lets not set my ass on fire .

I'm talking about the functioning crazies not the real mentally impaired, I don't fear them, rather want to help those

[valerief]

16. Yeah, the media delusionals are really frightening.

If it weren't for the media, they wouldn't be as delusional as they are.

[heaven05]

23. well

Last edited Sat Sep 8, 2012, 01:11 PM - Edit history (2)

We have a lot of political fringees that are a danger. off the radar people. I just hope, with four times OR MORE threats against Obama than any other President, the Secret Service is up to the task. It's still hell being a minority person in this country. In great part I blame religion for the intolerance. Yes MORMON and otherwise. I wonder what the percentage is of how many 'good' Christians and Mormons hate our President just because of his RACE and are making these threats. Betcha there are no statistics on that. Christian nation as a hateful nation.

[madokie]

47. the people who I know who are intolerant of others is pretty much the folks who claim to be religous

people. Us regular ole joes who don't have that monkey on our back don't have that problem so much. Again my opinion and I'm entitled to it

[heaven05]

50. ten-four

[lindysalsagal]

51. I totally agree with your opinion: Bigots hide behind religious rhetoric that they probably don't

understand. If you translate verses of the ancient texts into current vernacular, the meanings are twisted and obscured beyond recognition. It's real easy to cite bigoted claims from the past to rationalize your own childish paranoia.

[kestrel91316]

36. What scares me is that he doesn't get lifetime protection -

just 10 years after leaving office.

And I'm not sure how much, if any, his family will get in the way of protection.

The repukes did this after Clinton, in hopes that it would make it easier for our beloved Democratic presidents to be assassinated after leaving office. Hell, they are probably working on how to expedite the process as we speak. Funding potential assassins, etc.........

[man4allcats]

41. Re: "Hell, they are probably working on how to expedite the process..."

Indeed. You are closer to the truth than you may know. Read Russ Baker's book Family Of Secrets. As the author points out, whether you're a Democrat (JFK & RFK) or even a Republican (Richard Nixon), you cross Poppy at your own peril.

[Politicalboi]

53. I would love to see the day

When Poppy and his sons get tried for all the crimes they have committed. Just to see little Bush get arrested and brought to prison would be good enough for now. I want that old piece of shit alive to see it.

[man4allcats]

63. I'm with you.

The Bushes are a waste of otherwise perfectly good oxygen. They're so crooked when they die they'll have to screw them into the ground.

[progressivebydesign]

46. Well, I'm not shocked to see that the Seattle office has their hands full.

I moved up here from California, and I tell ya, I have never been in a place with so many deranged people with guns. Every day you look at the news to see how shot someone. And looking at the rants on the news site comments up here, they are begging for someone to break into their house so they can kill them. Seriously.. this place is nuts. Too many ignorant and angry old white men with guns.

Right now, next door, my neighbor ( a HUGE Glenn Beck fan) is having his paranoid angry old men over to help him put up a second tower for his ham radio. See, they all believe that the President will be declaring martial law and taking their guns, and sending them to camps (seriously, they told me this.) So they have gotten their ham radio network going, because they truly believe that after the election, either way, there will be rioting and they will shut down the airwaves . Of course, for all their talk of the President being a "socialist" and "secret Muslim" they have no problem living on their medicare, social security, and the husband who retired young from working for the military after a "devastating"back injury, and has been living off that for years and years. Amazing that his back injury allows him to shove gravel, build things, and do other kinds of hard labor at home... while claiming other people are living off the Govt like socialists.

ETA: Moving back to California in a few weeks. I cannot stand it up here... need to be around people I can relate to. Unless you're right IN Seattle, the Puget Sound area is like a Glenn Beck live audience.

[jillan]

57. omg - I never knew that about Seattle :(

[2pooped2pop]

7. Blame the traitoruous "news" media

Limbaugh, Beck, Oreilly, well all of Fox news, but also the other stations as well, Gregory, CNN, almost all of them contribute.

They purposely have mislead the idiot class. They have rightly gotten them angry, but have purposely lied about the reasons to be mad. They were hoping one of them might actually get lucky and get him. THey made the tea party.

Incitement

The secret service should be visiting the news outlets.

[greymattermom]

8. get these threats into their background check information

Most employers run background checks these days. No jobs for those who make threats against the president.

[Frustratedlady]

9. Every time I see him speaking in the open,

I remember how the Pugs have called him cowardly, weak, etc. This man has more nerve and ability to slough off fear than most men. Any person would have given up long ago if for no other reason than the horrible verbal abuse he's taken...even by MSM commentators. With all the radio stations they blurt their propaganda over, it's amazing nothing has happpened, but I fear that the closer we get to the election, the worse threats will become.

Just think of how many appearances he has made. The SS and FBI have sure earned their money.

[madokie]

48. Lets hope they're up to it and their on their game

[Onlooker]

10. God bless the Secret Service

What a hell of job they have protecting Obama. The hatred against him by the racist extremist right is intense, and it really does surprise me that the Secret Service has kept him safe even in crowds in the tens of thousands.

[Historic NY]

11. Those on the other side don't take responsibility for "whipping" them up either.

[RonTiger]

12. Hire more agents

Secret SErvice must hire more agents to protect Obama.

[SmittynMo]

13. Prosecute

ANYONE threatening the president should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Perhaps it's time to review the law itself. I'm unaware of what the repercussions are for threatening the president, but I'm sure its more than shutting down a twitter account. This shit should be taken seriously.

[OverBurn]

14. Man I was naive enough to think after he won the election people would forget

the color of his skin. (I'm assuming a large majority of the threats are racist based) I guess I just didn't release how racist this country really is, shockingly so. Can't believe the number of people I have known for years making racist comments after 2008. I've lost respect for a lot of people I thought were pretty good people, they'll never have my respect again. A few I've told just that.

Like the original poster said, all this really does make my heart hurt.

[CBHagman]

18. Of course the racism is a key factor, but don't underestimate the intensity of the hatred on...

...the other side. Truly, do not. The racism would be enough to drive someone angry or crazy enough to make threats or try to carry them out, but beyond that there's a deep-seated viciousness informing too many on the right, and it predates Obama's presidency.

[heaven05]

25. yeah

that may be right. Yet I didn't see Bush being called racist epithets or people calling openly for him to be hung, an especially egregious mind picture in the older black community. I have this 'bitter fruit' poster, you see, to remind of where that mormon candidate and aynryan would like to go back to. You didn't see weapons openly carried at political events like they were at Palin events. Oh yeah, you're right, the "deep seated" hate and viciousness predates Obama. In fact it goes all the way back to slavery in this country. It took an African-American President to bring it out in the open again. Racism is the MAJOR factor of hate in this country at this particular time and hate radio, that mormon candidate and aynryan are the KEY factors driving it.

[pdxDemocrat]

64. Fear and Hate are tools of the trade.

Fear and hate are powerful tools. The Red Scare of the depression era was later fine tuned in the 40s and 50s. Right wing radio used the same tactics to inspire Timothy McVeigh. I still think of Willie Horton when I see George HW Bush.

It's sad, but if Republicans need to fan the flames of racism to win the Whitehouse, they'll gladly do so.

[heaven05]

66. yeah

you're right about that tools of the trade remark. This time the TOOL is a large sledgehammer of fear and racial hate. Yeah everyday they ARE fanning the flames of a Dresden type racist firestorm. Not if and need to, are doing just that, fanning, fanning, fanning... Yep I agree with you, you are right. They are appealing to the worst nature, and it looks like a large minority, of some Amerikkkans. Yep I agree with you.

[johnlucas]

27. It's only because you're not Black that you didn't understand

Last edited Sat Sep 8, 2012, 11:42 AM - Edit history (1)

I assume you're White. Could be wrong but I think it's a pretty accurate assumption.
Because of your background you don't intimately understand what it's like to be a Black person in America.
You may have sympathy & empathy but that daily experience is lost on you simply because you don't live this reality day to day.

Same thing with men not understanding what women go through on a daily basis or women not understanding what men go through on a daily basis.
Same thing with people with aversion to heat not understanding people with aversion to cold & vice versa.
You only know the skin you're in...if THAT.

I'm Black & I bet you money that every Black person you know felt more or less the same as I did when Barack took office.
We KNEW he would be under siege CONSTANTLY!
We worry about somebody breaking past Secret Service & doing the unthinkable. CONSTANTLY!
This reality softens my anger with some bad policies he enacted or continued.
See if he goes too far too fast, he puts himself & his family at risk.

See to me the reality of his life & his family's life being threatened explains his reticence in pushing forward in a STRONG Progressive direction. His background shows me that it is within him. We all know it is. That's why we voted for him.
But even going halfway, the devious ones want to take his life.

I WISH Obama acted as socialist as they accuse him of being.
But even playing the Third Way tactics, he's under siege.
JFK, MLK, & RFK aren't far from his mind.

I expected his life to be in danger just from being the 1st Black President alone.
My background as a Black man in this country makes this knowledge instinctual.
He knows what was on the line when he made that run which is why I got disappointed with him for backing off on certain political fights.
But I had to check myself because I know the threats were constant & it has to wear on a man after awhile.
That's why I got over my early disappointment & got back on board.

I'm not surprised racism has seeped back to the surface.
It never left guys. It's always been a thin veneer.
This country was built on the degradation of "The Others".
Look on Wikipedia to understand what inspired Marcus Garvey's UNIA flag.
This ain't no "post-racial" society yet but Obama's position as President will help that society come along faster.

Hopefully with his 2nd term he will have more political capital to unleash his full power.
I KNOW he is The One to change the direction of this country. I gotta look at the long game & understand what is at stake.

Overburn, when Obama is re-elected expect even MORE unchecked racist comments from people you know.
They're gonna lose it when he gets his 2 terms.
It's gonna get worse before it gets better.
John Lucas

[heaven05]

32. SPOT ON!

[OverBurn]

68. You are 100% right, I just didn't really get that racism ran that deep.

[veganlush]

15. "Overwhelming"?

That seems like a strange choice of word, because words mean things and that means 'more than we can handle'.

[Quantess]

22. I thought they meant that

telling the president about the staggering number of daily death threats would feel overwhelming, and that is why they don't tell him.

[Jackpine Radical]

31. I took it to mean the same thing you did.

And I think that's maybe how it was meant. Surely there are more threats pouring in than they can actually investigate, so they would have to prioritize, taking not of which ones are the most dangerous, directly or otherwise.

As an example of a not-very-dangerous threat, I might cite the example of a chronic schizophrenic somewhere on a locked ward, convinced that God wants him to kill the President.

Threats that become public, such as Twitter or other social-media threats, should be quite a few notches up on the priority scale. Even if the individuals making the threats are unlikely to carry out physical harm, they are poisoning the public discourse and countenancing a sick norm in which the notion of assassination becomes more acceptable.

Not knowing the circumstances of the present case, I'm in no position to judge whether the right action was taken. Neither is anybody on this bord, unless they have specific knowledge about the events and personalities.

But when it comes down to it, ya know, its the ones who harbor dark thoughts, brood in their basements, fill their heads with Beck, Liddy & Savage, and give no outward signal of their intentions that I worry about the most.

[valerief]

17. You know that saying, "Sticks and stones will break my bones

but names will never hurt me?"

It should be changed to, "A gun and bullet will bust my gullet and names pushed by the media will drive some nut to kill me."

[NRaleighLiberal]

19. sobering, sad and pathetic - but is anyone here truly surprised?

we all are well aware of the surroundings in which we live - the hatred and racism that bubbles under the surface here and there. I am saddened, but sadly, not at all surprised. We've come far, but have such a long way to go - and the right wing prefers that every step ahead is dragged backward by two.

[justgamma]

20. It's not only those guys.

It's the Grassley's with their "death panels". It's the Bachman's, the Palins and the leaders of the party who must create fear to win elections. That's what disgusts me the most.

[LibGranny]

21. When baby bush was in office, remember people being arrested because they had a slogan

on their tee shirt?

[lunatica]

24. And Bush and Cheney never faced an audience that wasn't vetted

[Kyad06]

29. Palin should be arrested

crosshairs are a threat

[jillan]

56. YES!! I cannot believe that the msm actually made excuses for her after Gabby was shot.

[blkmusclmachine]

33. You'd think the Con's would love BHO, who's a Reagan Republican.

But you'd be wrong. They can't see beyond the color of his skin.

[great white snark]

42. Or maybe you're grossly mistaken.

Liberal Democrats love President Obama. I'll take their judgement and you can rely on the Repubs.

[progressivebydesign]

44. are you fucking kidding me? A republican? n/t

[DemocratsForProgress]

49. I'm amazed you're able to post at all

what with all those "muscls" in your head.

[Baitball Blogger]

35. Welome to the truth.

White entitlement is no longer dog whistling. They're out in banshee cry mode.

[nc4bo]

38. Not that it will matter but I posted on my FB page.....

a warning that if *I* see it, I'll not hesitate to report it. Also instructions to do a screen capture and SS Contact Information.

As a nation, none of us should tolerate this bullshit.

No idiots, not every one is a racist piece of shit, not everyone agrees with your brand of American. Americans vote people out of office if we disagree with them, we don't threaten to do harm.

[jillan]

58. excellent!!

[progressivebydesign]

43. How heartbreaking. The "right" and their 24/7 hate machine has consequences.

They dehumanize our President, who is a good Christian family man, and the unstable and ignorant see him as a monster. Add to that the President's "differentness" in the minds of an angry, disturbed, racist, and it's frightening.

The Secret Service have my utmost respect. They have to deal with the lowest rung of our society, the haters, the ignorant, and the dangerous.

Clear Channel, a Bain Company, employs Glenn Beck. His schtick is using comparisons of the Nazis, when describing the President and the Democrats. He tells people every day that the President is coming for them... that he is going to take all their stuff, put them in camps, and worse. And he is on the radio. He is food for the unstable and paranoid. But truly, how many of the people who the Secret Service now say are mentally disturbed, where not dangerous until the media began inciting their paranoia? How many were created by people like G. Gordon Liddy and Glenn Beck??

Even Fox News, which seems tame by comparison to Glenn Beck and his ilk, are guilty of this. Their entire programming from day One has been hate, division, and other-ness. Their goal is to dehumanize the President so that people are unable to see who he really is. That he has a beautiful family, American values, and is human. The Fox news talking heads show up in their expensive suits, and professional sets, and they lie, they use hyperbole, they create threats, they have guests like Ann Coulter who has said things that frankly should warrant a visit from the Secret Service if she wasn't a fucking multi millionaire.

Corporate America has made these people rich... and given them a platform. And it's all tied together with the threats. Al Gore and Bill Clinton were right, years ago, when they said that one of the biggest threats to our Nation was the conglomeration of the media.

[Stainless]

45. Throw Them all in Jail

until after the Election. They will have some time to think about how stupid they are and they won't be able to vote!

[mother earth]

52. GOP hate & fear mongering is worstening a bad situation. Let's face it they stir the pot inviting

violence. Race is a huge part of the division about this president, it simply cannot be denied.

[mzmolly]

54. Horrible.

[a geek named Bob]

55. If *ANYTHING* happens to the president

certain groups lose their electricity privileges.

They wanna play threats?

Here's mine:

targeted EMPs to wipe out their power, seismic sound patterns to flatten shut their water and gas pipes, and hackers to wipe out their credit and savings accounts.

Vox Geek, Vox Dei

[Cha]

59. Yeah, Lots of Hate radio egging on lots of really stupid haters

and what are those brainwashed fox dumbshits suppose to do with all the Lies they hear each and every day about our President?

I'm glad to see the SS is all over this..it's got to be especially exponentially far reaching with all the social media outlets. You know they scope out any possibility at the campaign events or anywhere PBO goes.

[vanlassie]

61. Does anyone think they might have switched venues for

the president's speech because of some kind of threat?

[Skittles]

62. unhinged by successful black man at the top

with Obama's presidency it's like a light turned on and the cockroaches scatter

[Kteachums]

67. It is caused by the Republicans and their awful propoganda preying upon the ignorance of the people.

I believe any time the President's life is threatened it should not be taken lightly, even a 16 year old is capable of bearing arms. I lived in the 60's and watched as our Democratic leaders were assassinated one after the next. It will not and should not be allowed to happen again. Hopefully, those who protect the President will do a good job. In the meantime the film that is nothing but, a Republican plot to destroy the President should be pulled out of theaters. Propoganda and lies are wrong no matter which party is selling them. They feed into the minds of the vulnerable, the sick, etc. These sick people see themselves as the saviors of America. Isn't Abby proof enough? Do we want to see this happen to anyone especially our beloved leaders?