Many bomb threats were directed at Trump’s cabinet nominees

Several of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and picks for his White House team have been targeted by bomb threats.

The FBI said it was aware of “multiple bomb threats” as well as “spoofing incidents” in which scam calls were made to attract a police response to a target’s home.

Threats have been made over Trump’s choices to lead the Departments of Housing, Agriculture and Labor, as well as his choice to be US ambassador to the United Nations.

Police are investigating the incident that occurred Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, said Trump appointees “have been targeted by violent, un-American threats against their lives and those with whom they live.”

She said several people were targeted and “law enforcement acted quickly to ensure” their safety.

“With President Trump’s example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not stop us,” she said.

Neither Leavitt nor the FBI identified any targets by name.

Elise Stefanik, the New York Republican who Trump appointed US ambassador to the United Nations, was the first to say that her family’s home had been threatened with a bomb threat.

But Stefanik’s office said the congresswoman was informed of the bomb threat while she was driving with her husband and three-year-old son from Washington DC to New York for Thanksgiving.

Additionally, New York police later told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that the New York home of Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, was also threatened.

Law enforcement sources told US media that Trump, who survived two assassination attempts during his campaign, was not among those who received threats.

According to media reports, none of those targeted were people protected by the US Secret Service.

Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to administer the Environmental Protection Agency, also confirmed he was targeted, saying a “pipe bomb threat” was sent to his home with a “targeted message”. issue in support of Palestine”.

“My family and I were not home at that time and are safe,” he said. “We are grateful for the quick actions of local officials.”

Brooke Rollins, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Agriculture, posted on X to thank police in Fort Worth, Texas, for their “swift efforts” to investigate the threat to her family on Wednesday morning.

“We were unharmed and quickly returned home,” she wrote.

Scott Turner, Trump’s pick for Housing, and Lori Chavez-Deremer, his pick for Labor Secretary, also posted on social media that they had been targeted. Each swore that they would not be deterred by the threats.

President Joe Biden “was briefed” about the threats, the White House said in a statement.

“The White House is in contact with federal law enforcement and the President-elect’s team and continues to closely monitor the situation.”

Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who recently dropped out of his bid to become U.S. attorney general, is also a target.

Florida’s Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a bomb threat was directed at an address in the town of Niceville.

Police said the home’s mailbox was emptied and no devices were found, and a search of the area turned up nothing.

Fox News also reported that John Ratcliffe, Trump’s nominee to be CIA director, and defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth had received threats.

Similar hoax tactics have recently been used against other high-ranking political figures, including the judges and prosecutors overseeing the criminal cases against Trump.

Last year, American politicians across the country were attacked around Christmas. Most were Republicans, but some Democrats were also targeted.