Arizona secretary of state gets security detail over death threats surrounding election audit

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) is receiving security protection from the Arizona Department of Public Safety after she received several death threats during a controversial election audit in Maricopa County.

Hobbs’s office confirmed to The Hill that she requested the protection Thursday “in light of recent death threats she has been receiving and after she was chased by a man she did not recognize yesterday.”

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s (R) office also confirmed to The Hill that it had approved of the protection from the Department of Public Safety. 

Hobbs has been a consistent critic of the election audit, which is being pushed by Republicans in the state Senate to call into questions the results from the 2020 presidential race in Arizona’s largest county, which went for President Biden. The company conducting the audit has minimal experience in election tallying, and its chief executive has expressed support for former President Trump.

Multiple audits since November determined that the vote was tallied accurately in Maricopa County and across the state, and no evidence has emerged to prove otherwise. The audit is widely viewed as a political exercise to placate Trump supporters who believe the November race was fraudulent. 

“People come from all over the country to work, raise families, and retire in Arizona. It’s the best state in the union,” Hobbs tweeted Thursday. “But this #fraudit is undermining confidence in our elections. It’s making Arizona a national joke. It’s bad for our brand, and bad for business.”

People come from all over the country to work, raise families, and retire in Arizona. It’s the best state in the union.

But this #fraudit is undermining confidence in our elections. It’s making Arizona a national joke. It’s bad for our brand, and bad for business.

— Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) May 6, 2021

Hobbs maintained she would keep up her criticism despite the death threats, saying Friday she’d “never be intimidated out of telling the truth, defending our elections, and serving the people of Arizona.”

Let me be very clear: I will never be intimidated out of telling the truth, defending our elections, and serving the people of Arizona. https://t.co/H9DO8m4tcc

— Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) May 7, 2021

Hobbs had previously received state protection shortly after the 2020 election during the vote tally in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs.