Trump Cabinet nominees, appointees targeted with ‘violent, unAmerican threats’
Nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with "violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them," prompting a "swift" law enforcement response, Fox News Digital has learned.
The "attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’" according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Sources told Fox News Digital that John Racliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted.
"Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them," she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. "In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action."
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File: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Local law enforcement officials responded to the threats and visited the homes of several nominees and appointees, Fox News Digital has learned.
Leavitt said Trump and the transition team "are focused on doing the work of uniting our nation by ensuring a safe and prosperous future."
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File: Donald Trump waves to the crowd on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
"With President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us," she said.
Stefanik's office confirmed in a post on X that she was one of the targets of the incident.
"This morning, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, her husband, and their three-year-old son were driving home to Saratoga County from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence," the post stated. "New York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism. We are incredibly appreciative of the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe 24/7."
The threats come mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.
Just days before accepting the Republican nomination, Trump was shot at a rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the event, Trump was displaying a chart highlighting skyrocketing illegal immigration under the Biden-Harris administration. As he turned toward the chart, he was hit by a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear by the now-deceased would-be-assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks. Trump credits the chart for saving his life.
Weeks later, in September, another would-be-assassin hid in the bushes at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The alleged gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, had an AK-47-style rifle pointing through the fence toward Trump as the GOP nominee was golfing. Trump was rushed off the golf course by U.S. Secret Service agents unharmed.