Six Democratic lawmakers targeted with bomb threats during Thanksgiving holiday

By Zachary Cohen and Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — At least six Democrats in Congress say they were targeted with a bomb threat over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Four Democratic representatives from Connecticut said Thursday they were targeted with bomb threats while home celebrating Thanksgiving with their families. Sen. Chris Murphy’s office said he was also targeted.

Reps. Joe Courtney, Jim Himes, John Larson and Jahana Hayes each issued statements revealing the threats, prompting law enforcement to respond. Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island said in a statement Friday he was “recently notified of a bomb threat to his house.” In each case, law enforcement ultimately found no evidence of a bomb and all five representatives have reported their families are safe.

Murphy’s office said his Hartford home was the target of a bomb threat, “which appears to be part of a coordinated effort involving multiple members of Congress and public figures.”

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement Friday the threats are “unacceptable, unconscionable and have no place in a civilized society.”

“These incidents ranged from detailed threats of a pipe bomb placed in mailboxes to swatting, all signed with ‘MAGA’ at the conclusion of the message,” Jeffries said.

Law enforcement is investigating whether there is any connection between the batch of threats sent to Congressional Democrats and a batch sent to Trump officials earlier in the week, two sources told CNN.

According to one source, there is no apparent shared ideology behind the threats.

Several of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks and administration appointees were similarly targeted Tuesday night into Wednesday in what the president-elect’s transition team called “violent and unAmerican threats to their lives.”

Incidents like these have increased in the past few years and are not uncommon for lawmakers, one official familiar with investigations into the earlier calls told CNN.

Members of law enforcement have previously told CNN that these calls can involve individuals overseas using scripts to make a variety of threats and are sometimes done for attention and entertainment.

In a statement to CNN, US Capitol Police said they are investigating the latest round of threats against Democratic lawmakers.

“Anytime a Member of Congress is the victim of a ‘swatting’ incident, we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners. To protect ongoing investigations and to minimize the risk of copy-cats, we cannot provide more details at this time,” USCP said in a statement.

The FBI said in a statement Wednesday that it was aware of “numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and is working with other law enforcement. “We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement,” the statement added.

Andrew McCabe, a former FBI deputy director and CNN contributor, said he was not surprised by the threats earlier this week.

“This has become a very, very common aspect of life for really anyone who is in a high profile or even a remotely controversial position. It’s been going on for years,” McCabe said in an interview Wednesday. “They probably know – 90% sure – that these threats that come in are worthless and there’s nothing to them, but they can’t take the risk of not responding on the off-chance that one real threat gets through.”

Swatting is a criminal hoax that involves falsely reporting a crime, such as a mass shooting or bomb threat, with the intention of getting police to arrive at a certain location. In an era of highly charged partisan politics, these types of threats have targeted a wide span of ideologies. Special counsel Jack Smith, for example, and Judge Tanya Chutkan, who oversaw the federal election subversion case against Trump, have previously been targeted in such incidents.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis contributed to this report.

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