Arizona’s top election officer on Wednesday denounced violent threats against her family and staff over vote results which flipped the western US state Democratic for the first time in decades.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, whose Phoenix home has been visited by protesters, said threats and “continued intimidation tactics will not prevent me from performing the duties I swore an oath to do.”
As secretary of state, Hobbs is the person who has to certify by November 30 the results of the November 3 election.
Other officials across the country, including in Georgia, Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania, have also reported receiving threats in the wake of the election.
“Our democracy is tested constantly, it continues to prevail, and it will not falter under my watch,” Hobbs said in a statement.
Outgoing President Donald Trump has so far refused to concede defeat in the polls and has attempted legal action to challenge the outcome of the vote.
Hobbs said in recent days she has been getting threats both online and at her office.
In one surveillance video carried by local media, protesters can be seen outside her home playing music and chanting “we want an audit.”
A local resident said some were taking pictures of the property and yelling “Katie come out and play, we are watching you.”
Hobbs took aim at the Trump administration and other elected officials for undermining the electoral process, stating that they were “perpetuating misinformation and are encouraging others to distrust the election results.”
Republican outrage over Biden’s win comes despite the fact that the Department of Homeland Security has described the 2020 US election as the “most secure election in American history.” AFP
