(UnitedVoice.com) – Political divisions in the country are at a high. Lawmakers have faced an uptick in threats and have even been attacked by people angry with them over their political ideologies. In 2017, there was a mass shooting carried out by a leftist at a baseball field where Republicans were practicing. Four people were shot, including a congressman. A conservative lawmaker is now lashing out at the Department of Justice for allegedly having double standards.
The US Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana recently declined to prosecute a man who threatened Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN). In 2023, Aaron Thompson, 33, was sentenced after pleading guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges after leaving threatening voicemails for the lawmaker at his office. In one message, the defendant threatened to shoot the congressman’s three daughters and his wife. The local court sentenced him to two years of probation.
The Department of Justice could have prosecuted the 33-year-old because Banks is a federal lawmaker, but refused to do so. Banks spoke to Fox News Digital and said he was thankful for Allen County, Indiana’s prosecutors Mike McAlexander and Adam Mildred because they took the “threats seriously” and enforced “the law impartially.” However, he said that he wants Attorney General Merrick Garland to explain why he “ignored threats” against Banks’ family but had prosecuted others who have threatened Democrats.
Banks claimed the failure to prosecute Thompson was another example of President Joe Biden weaponizing the justice system.
The DOJ responded to the allegations through a spokesperson and pointed out federal authorities have repeatedly prosecuted people who have threatened Republican officials. They said federal authorities investigate “threats to public officials regardless of their party affiliation.” Since Biden has been in office, the DOJ has prosecuted criminal threats against Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Clay Higgins (R-LA), and Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
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