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SALT LAKE CITY — Threats of political violence continue to mar the closing days of the 2024 election in Utah, following a year that saw an increased number of threats levied against elected officials.
Several candidates have spoken about the need to tone down the vitriol to reduce the risk of violence, including U.S. Senate candidates John Curtis and Caroline Gleich. Curtis told supporters at a town hall this week that politicians should emphasize truth and trust in systems, while Gleich said her campaign has been the subject of "a lot of sexist and hateful language" — language that should be condemned by leaders.
Just last month, Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson's staff was targeted by a suspicious letter filled with white powder. The letter, which was intercepted by the FBI in Reno, Nevada, was signed by the "United States Traitor Elimination Army."
"This incident is the latest tactic in a nationwide trend of threats and intimidation toward election officials. But we will not be intimidated," Henderson said at the time.
With just days left before Election Day, Henderson — the state's top election official — is now facing violent threats online from people responding to a question posed by a write-in candidate for governor.
Online threats
Multiple people who appear to support Phil Lyman's write-in gubernatorial campaign this week suggested top election officials be put to death, raising the political temperature just days before the culmination of an already contentious election cycle in Utah.
Lyman, a state lawmaker who has refused to concede after losing to Gov. Spencer Cox in the Republican gubernatorial primary, has spent months questioning the results of that election and accusing Cox and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, of fraud. He has filed several lawsuits seeking to have the primary election nullified, but those efforts were rejected by the courts.
On Sunday, Lyman posted on X, asking his followers: "What should be the consequences/penalties for knowingly defrauding an election?"
The responses poured in, with many calling for Cox and Henderson to be jailed, while several others suggested capital punishment. "Public hanging," one said, while others said they should be killed by firing squad. Two commenters shared photos of nooses.
State Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, shared several screenshots of the comments on Lyman's post, saying: "Phil Lyman refuses to condemn these types of comments to his social media post. In what world is this okay?" McKell is Cox's brother-in-law.
Lyman responded in another post on Monday, sharing screenshots of texts McKell sent him about the violent comments and continuing to claim that Cox is not a legitimate candidate. When asked by KSL.com Wednesday if he would condemn the comments, Lyman implied they were not made by his supporters and did not answer any questions, neither condoning nor condemning what was said.
"Who said that?" he asked in response before adding: "Will you send me your story on the thousands of nominating petitions turned over to the AG?" — a reference to signature packets that were referred to the Utah attorney general after a legislative audit found some errors with signature verification.
That audit said the Cox campaign met the requirements to appear on the primary election ballot.
Several minutes later, Lyman said: "I'm still waiting for you to tell me who my 'supporters' are that said what you are claiming."
When asked if he believes Cox, Henderson or other officials knowingly committed election fraud, Lyman again did not answer.
"Do you think they have?" he responded. "And what do you think should be the consequences? And just because someone responds to an X post, does that make them my supporters?"
KSL.com analyzed the responses to Lyman's post and found that at least 11 of the commenters who suggested the death penalty had shared pro-Lyman content in the last month, and three of them had posted photos of their ballots with Lyman's name written in for governor.
Spokespersons for the Cox/Henderson campaign and the lieutenant governor's office declined to comment.
"We are aware of these threats," a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement. "We are staying very vigilant through elections and take all threats seriously. We will continue to monitor the situation and take measures accordingly."
Turning down the temperature
As emotions have risen on both sides of the political spectrum in the days leading up to Election Day, several other Utah candidates have spoken about the need to prevent political violence. During a town hall in Farmington on Monday night, Curtis and Rep. Celeste Maloy were asked by a resident about what can be done to avoid violence leading up to and following the Nov. 5 election.
Curtis pointed to an op-ed he published in the Deseret News earlier that day pledging to accept the results of the upcoming election. In it, he recalled being in the Capitol complex during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection and called for trust in the system.
"The consequences of demonizing our opponents and the weaponization of words is that it both undermines trust and leads to physical violence," Curtis wrote.
He told Farmington residents that too many people don't believe in facts, and encouraged "(talking) straight with people."
"There's just not enough people saying the facts matter," he said. "I think that it's so easy to go down a rabbit hole, and people do, and I think society tends to indulge them. ... So, just say, these are facts folks, and facts matter."
Maloy said too many people in both parties are too quick to blame the other side for escalating rhetoric while ignoring their own role in it. She told KSL.com that people need to have "thicker skin" to be able to have better dialogue with those who hold drastically opposing views.
"We're all Americans," she said. "We're all in this together. I say all the time ... you can't sink half a ship. ... Just recognize that our neighbors have the right to be wrong."
Maloy's and Curtis' political opponents also emphasized a need to reduce the risk of political violence. Gleich, the Democrat running against Curtis for U.S. Senate, said she has been on the receiving end of "a lot of sexist and hateful language" and said candidates should denounce that kind of rhetoric. She blamed former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, referencing a New York City rally on Sunday that saw several of his supporters make a series of vulgar and racist remarks.
"Those comments are unacceptable and they have no place in our society today," she said. "We have to denounce it and take a stand and say this is wrong, it's not who we are."
Nathaniel Woodward, another Democrat who hopes to unseat Maloy in Utah's 2nd Congressional District, said too many politicians attack their opponents' character, rather than arguing for better policy.
"It's more about inciting some pretty strong feelings and making every issue do or die," he said. "It's kind of silly when you're looking at it, but then, you know, it's not that silly because these things matter. These things have repercussions."
