Rep. John Duarte (R-Modesto) received an anonymous email on July 11 that claimed a bomb had been planted on his family ranch, a story that the first-term congressman decided to make public following the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa.
The sender of the email was angered by Duarte’s vote against a Republican measure to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to turn over recordings of President Biden’s interview in his classified documents case.
The email reads, in part: “We placed a bomb at John Duarte’s ranch. You are an anti-American traitor, you voted against the Constitution and your constituents’ interests by supporting Garland. You are just another swamp monster. We will not tolerate this (expletive). If you ever vote against America first or draining the swamp, we will (expletive) kill you.”
In a newsletter published by his office, Duarte wanted his constituents to know that following the bomb threat and the assassination attempt, he was worried the country would become even more divided.
“However, the opposite happened,” Duarte said. “ I had dozens of conversations about lowering the temperature and animosity. I was proud to see Democrats and Republicans come together throughout our Valley and focus on working together to fix our pressing issues."
According to a report by KXTV-10 in Sacramento, Duarte immediately reported the bomb threat to the U.S. Capitol Police. The investigation is ongoing.
“Because it went to one of my family members, of course, I was particularly angry when it came in,” he said. “We started going to security protocols and checking and checking the property that (threat) was made against,” Duarte told KXTV-10, adding that his family is safe and nobody was injured.
Duarte told the ABC affiliate that he still wants to engage his constituents in public settings, albeit with added precautions.
“We’ll have security there,” said Duarte. “And I’ll feel safe doing it.”
According to the Capitol Police, the department investigated more than 8,000 threat cases in 2023, up from 7,500 in 2022.
