As cases of the novel coronavirus increase nationwide, concerns of the virus spreading are not the only issue local and health officials both face. A number of officials on the local level in both political and health spaces have become the target of violent threats for supporting COVID-19 measures and efforts to stop the spread. According to Daily Kos, as a result, a number of public officials, who are already underpaid and overworked, have expressed thoughts of retiring or leaving the field.
In Kansas, a Republican mayor announced her resignation Tuesday after receiving multiple threats for publicly supporting a mask mandate. Mayor Joyce Warshaw of Dodge City announced her resignation on social media following emails, voicemails, and other anonymous violent messages towards her and her family that began last month after the city commission voted for masks to be required both indoors and outdoors where social distancing can not be observed. According to The Washington Post, the anonymous messages claimed she was not only restricting civil liberties but should go to jail over her vote.
“I do not feel safe in this position anymore,” Warshaw wrote in a resignation letter Tuesday to the city manager, “and am hopeful in removing myself this anger, accusations and abuse will not fall on anyone else and will calm down.” Warshaw expressed that she felt as though she had no choice but to resign amid the increasing violence towards public officials. Over the last year, various public officials have been forced to relinquish their positions due to floods of nasty messages and in some cases, armed protesters outside their home. “There’s a multitude of things coming down the pipe, causing people to be disgruntled with life,” she said. “People just want to blame somebody, and I feel like it was easy to blame me.”
Under the Trump administration, public officials have become targets as Donald Trump encourages his supporters to protest, even with violence, towards officials who vote on issues in ways they do not agree with. Daily Kos reported a large number of threats by Trump supporters that took place this week alone against public servants trying to fulfill their duties. Additionally, hate crimes have seen a rapid increase since the start of Trump’s presidential term. To date, more than 50 cases of violence have directly cited Trump as the influence and reason for the crime.
While the messages began last month, they increased in aggression and frequency after a feature published in USA Today Friday. Threats ranging from expressing that Warshaw should “get murdered” to “we’re coming for you” prompted Warshaw to make the difficult decision to resign after serving nearly eight years in government.
“They were loud, and they were aggressive, and they frightened me and my family,” Warshaw told The Washington Post. “There’s a strong part of me that wants to say they are only words. But people are angry right now, and I don’t know that for sure.”
Police are investigating some of the threats and despite them, Warshaw told The Associated Press that she does not regret voting in favor of the mask mandate and still loves the city the same. “This is harder for me than people realize,” Warshaw said. “I really love this city with all my heart. I still believe in this city, and I believe in their ability to not harm one another.” Since the start of the pandemic, Ford County, where Dodge City is located, has recorded more than 4,900 cases of COVID-19, according to the state health department.
As of this report, at least 197,903 cases of COVID-19 and 2,253 deaths have been reported in Kansas, according to data compiled by The New York Times.
