Prosecutors in Trump Mar-a-Lago case facing threats, harassment: report

Prosecutors working on the classified documents case against former President Trump have reportedly faced threats and harassment as the legal battle proceeds.

The Washington Post, citing a government official and extremism experts, reported Thursday that prosecutors involved in the case have faced significant harassment and threats online and elsewhere.

Trump supporters have posted the names of prosecutors and government workers online and yelled them out at protests, the experts said.

Still, two officials told The Post that federal agencies have not seen an overall increase in threats to law enforcement in the weeks following Trump’s indictment over his possession of the documents at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.

The FBI declined to comment to The Hill.

The Post reported that the Justice Department (DOJ) has tried to prevent the names of those working on Trump cases from being made public, but prosecutors’ names are included in public court filings. 

Trump has also repeatedly publicly criticized those investigating him, including special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the probe.

Last year, amid reports of an increase in threats against law enforcement officials after the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago, the agency said it was working to “assess and respond to such threats,” which it called “reprehensible and dangerous.”

People familiar with the matter said top DOJ officials like Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Smith have had security teams for a long time, and officials are providing security to other individuals as needed. 

Experts told the Post that threats against law enforcement have mostly been dropping since the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot because people have realized the legal consequences they could face, but they are still seeing violent speech directed at those seen as targeting Trump.

According to experts monitoring online messaging boards interviewed by The Post, general threats are down from the levels seen immediately after the Mar-a-Lago raid in August 2022, though the experts cautioned about potential violence as the case proceeds.

Security was enhanced in key locations, like the Capitol, ahead of Trump’s indictments in Manhattan in the hush-money case involving adult film star Stormy Daniels and in the documents case in Miami. Feared violent protests ultimately did not occur.

This story was updated at 3:56 p.m.