“We know where you live. … In the dead of a cold winters [sic] night, this year, or next and beyond, there is no knowing what may happen. Your property, your family may be impacted, your cat may get shot. And more. … Your vote for this guy [Trump] is seen as treading on my rights. You tread on me at your peril, motherf-cker. We look forward to visiting in the future.”
That is language from the nasty, vile letter that Pennsylvania voters received through the U.S. mail in October 2024, just prior to the presidential election. What was their crime? They had Trump signs in their yards.
And what did local law enforcement, the Pennsylvania state police, the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service do about this intimidation and threats of violence against voters in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and various Pennsylvania counties?
Apparently, nothing at all.
This attempt to scare Trump voters is the subject of a new lawsuit filed in federal court in Philadelphia by the Public Interest Legal Foundation against “John Doe 1” and “John Doe 2,” the term used by plaintiffs in litigation when they have been unable to identify the defendants. The unknown bullies are being sued under both Section 3 of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act.
The civil portion of the Ku Klux Klan Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1985 (3), provides for the recovery of damages against miscreants who “conspire to prevent by force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person.”
Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. §10307(b), makes it a federal crime to “intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for voting or attempting to vote.”
During the time these acts were committed in 2024, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice was headed by Kristen Clarke. The Civil Rights Division of DOJ is responsible for enforcing Section 11b.
Clarke is probably the most biased, partisan ideologue to ever head that division. She had no interest whatsoever in protecting Trump voters. But then, apparently no one else at the local, state, or federal level did either.
If you’re wondering why one would file a lawsuit against unknown defendants, here is the point. The Public Interest Legal Foundation obtained a federal judge’s approval to issue subpoenas to various law enforcement agencies notified by the Trump voters of what happened to them. These agencies had a duty to conduct investigations into what was a serious attempt to coerce voters and a dangerous threat to the election process in a state with a dismal record when it comes to the integrity of its elections — including violence directed at government officials, as Gov. Josh Shapiro can testify.
Competent investigators would have checked the anonymous letters for fingerprints and DNA. They would have checked the postmarks to see if they could determine where the letters were mailed from and whether there were surveillance cameras at those locations.
Since the threatened voters lived in multiple locations, the perpetrators apparently identified them through the Trump signs in their yards. Investigators should have checked for surveillance cameras, including front-door Ring cameras, in the victims’ neighborhoods to see if the same individuals or cars were seen in those different neighborhoods.
But was any of this done? It doesn’t appear so. The Pennsylvania State Police responded to a subpoena by saying no investigation was opened. One of the victims filed a complaint with her local police department in Lower Merion but never received any follow-up calls or information from that department. The department admitted another voter had received the same letter and still did not act.
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