Rising threats to public officials present challenges for the US Department of Justice

ISD’s Head of Threat Analysis and Prevention, Katherine Keneally, spoke to CNN about the rise in threats to public officials and the challenges in prosecuting them.

Despite the recent surge in threats to public officials, Katherine explained how these offences are under-prosecuted due to a lack of resources at the US Department of Justice and the challenges in assessing when a threat crosses a line into speech that isn’t protected by the First Amendment.

“It’s incredibly difficult, and I do not envy the DOJ’s position,” she said.

Katherine added that not all attacks are preceded by threats, highlighting how the more egregious attackers such as mass shooters, often do not issue any threats.

“They’re not issuing threats to anyone because they are very much focused on wanting to stay under the radar,” she said.