State officials faced threats from Trump supporters, Jan 6 panel reveals
- Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson faced threatning protests
- Large crowds gathered outside her residence
- The committee said the 2020 elections "turned her life upside down"
The impact of Donald Trump‘s “rigged elections” claims was not limited to Washington DC. State officials of various swing states also faced threats after they refused to take part in overturning the results of the 2020 presidential elections.
The January 6 committee revealed the story of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, whose life was “turned upside down” after the elections. Huge crowds assembled outside her residence and chanted threatening slogans.
Also Read: With Jan 6 hearing in the backdrop, Mike Pence speaks in support of Donald Trump
The crowd gathered with large megaphones and signboards. Secretary of State Benson was called a “threat to democracy, felon and a tyrant”, according to a video played by the January 6 committee on Tuesday.
“We started to hear the noises outside my home, and that’s when my stomach sunk, and I thought: It’s me”, Benson said in a cutscene.
“We don’t know what’s going to — and the uncertainty of that was the fear. Like are they coming with guns? Are they going to attack my house? I’m here with my kid. You know, it’s, I’m trying to put him to bed. And so it was — that was the scariest moment, just not knowing what was going to happen”, she added.
Tuesday’s hearing will largely focus on testimonies given by state and local election officials, who were reportedly pressurised to overturn the results.
Chairman Bennie Thompson said Tuesday: “A handful of election officials in several key states stood between Donald Trump and the upending of American democracy.”
Also Read: Jan 6 committee likely to subpoena Mike Pence, Ginni Thomas
Wandrea “Shay” Moss, a former Georgia election worker, is expected to talk about the severe public harassment she had faced along with her family, according to reports from Associated Press.
The first panel on Tuesday will include Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Secretary of State Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling.
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