Members of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are receiving a growing number of violent threats as the panel continues to put a spotlight on former President Donald Trump’s actions before and during the attack, according to numerous reports.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told CNN Wednesday that he is receiving “constant” death threats that have recently increased in volume.
“I even heard a voicemail just this morning that we got last night threatening execution,” Kinzinger said. “That kind of seems to be the normal thing nowadays, is just threatening execution.”
The Illinois congressman’s comments come just days after he shared online a death threat he received in the mail, which called for the execution of the congressman, his wife and his five-month-old child.
“I think it was important to put out to show the depravity of what’s existing out there, the fact that there are people that literally would come up with this idea of killing a five-month-old because you disagree with me being on the Jan 6 Committee,” Kinzinger told CNN.
Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the Jan. 6 select committee, acknowledged in the interview he has increased personal security but emphasized the threats are “not going to hinder us and it’s not going to intimidate us.”
Other lawmakers have beefed up their own personal security amid increased violent threats, as well, according to reports.
the Washington Post reported Wednesday that members of the select committee saw an increase in violent threats over a period of 24 hours, and that all members of the group are likely to receive a security detail.
In addition to Kinzinger, Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the committee, and Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the vice chair, have already had security detail for some time, according to reports.
The US Capitol Police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
What we know:The next Jan. 6 hearing will dig into Trump’s dealings with the DOJ
Kinzinger will lead Thursday’s Jan. 6 committee hearing, which will examine Trump’s to install loyalists in the senior ranks of the Department of Justice to promote his false claims of election fraud.
Thursday’s hearing will be the fifth in a series that began earlier this month. At Tuesday’s hearing, state officials in Georgia and Arizona told the panel about threats they received after refusing to succumb to the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn 2020 election results.
Two hearings the week prior covered efforts by Trump’s allies to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence into overturning the election and testimony from Trump aides who said the former president was told repeatedly he had lost the election and despite that, pushed ahead with his false claims of stolen election.
The first hearing on June 9 described a “sprawling, multistep conspiracy,” led by Trump, to stop the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism