{"id":2270444,"date":"2024-06-18T11:59:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T15:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-says-doj-declined-to-prosecute-threats-targeting-his-family-unlike-those-against-dems\/"},"modified":"2024-06-18T12:01:32","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T16:01:32","slug":"republican-says-doj-declined-to-prosecute-threats-targeting-his-family-unlike-those-against-dems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-says-doj-declined-to-prosecute-threats-targeting-his-family-unlike-those-against-dems\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican Claims DOJ Refused to Prosecute Threats Against His Family, Contrary to Treatment of Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frepublican-says-doj-declined-to-prosecute-threats-targeting-his-family-unlike-those-against-dems%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2270444&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rep. \u2062Jim Banks from Indiana \u200dcriticized the Department of Justice (DOJ) for \u2063not prosecuting threats against his family,\u200b highlighting what he perceives as unequal\u200b treatment compared\u2064 to \u2062threats against \u2064Democrats. \u200bHe noted\u200c that the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana declined to prosecute\u200c a man named Aaron Thompson, despite apparent evidence of criminal threats. Thompson, who later admitted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marjorie-taylor-greene-says-insane-woman-attacked-her-inside-restaurant\/\" title=\"Marjorie Taylor Greene Says \"Insane Woman\" Attacked Her Inside Restaurant\">making threatening calls<\/a> while drunk because he disagreed\u2063 with Banks\u2019 political stance, was\u200c eventually prosecuted locally and received a two<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nancy-pelosi-addresses-husbands-dui-arrest-mentions-that-she-had-nothing-to-do-with-it\/\" title=\"Nancy Pelosi Addresses Husband\u2019s DUI Arrest, Mentions That She Had Nothing to Do With It\">-year probation sentence<\/a>. Banks pointed out this disparity in\u200b treatment by comparing his case to \u200dthat of Democratic \u2063Rep. Eric Swalwal of \u2063California, \u2063suggesting that threats against Democratic members are taken\u2064 more seriously \u200dby the DOJ.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) says the Department of Justice declined to prosecute threats against his family in contrast to how it has handled similar threats against Democrats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Banks questioned Attorney General Merrick Garland about the seeming disparity in response to threats against Banks and threats against Democratic members of Congress. Banks wrote in a letter to the Justice Department chief that the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana \u201cdeclined\u201d to prosecute a man despite \u201cclear evidence\u201d of threats against Banks\u2019 family, according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/us-attorney-declined-prosecution-threat-congressman-letter-claims\/story?id=111201176\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ABC News<\/span><\/a>,<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> which obtained a copy of the letter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhen Capitol Police referred the criminal case against Aaron Thompson to the U.S. Attorney for Northern District of Indiana, they declined to prosecute despite clear evidence that Thompson violated federal law,\u201d Banks wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Banks received several threatening voicemails from Thompson, who was later prosecuted by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/grand-jury-indicts-school-board-members-for-alleged-secret-discussions-about-racial-agenda\/\" title=\"Grand Jury Indicts School Board Members For Alleged Secret Discussions About Racial Agenda\">local district attorney<\/a> in Indiana and sentenced to two years of probation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThree daughters. Hey, hey, hey, three bullets hey, hey, hey one wife yay. Oh yeah, yeah, we\u2019ll give her two bullets,\u201d Thompson said in one message, according to Banks\u2019 letter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an interview with U.S. Capitol Police, Thompson <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyjournal.net\/2023\/11\/20\/fort-wayne-man-gets-probation-for-harassing-rep-jim-banks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">admitted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  to calling and threatening Banks over disagreements with his political views. Thompson said he was intoxicated during the calls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The DOJ\u2019s treatment of Banks\u2019 case contrasts with how the department handled threats leveled against Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, according to Banks, who asked Garland why the cases were treated differently. A man accused of threatening the California Democrat <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/politics\/article\/eric-swalwell-threats-19464591.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">pleaded<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  guilty in May after being charged by federal prosecutors in January.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"sk-tooltip-9096\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1716990157394000&#038;usg=AOvVaw33qQydjIo8bet419amChif\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Swalwell\u2019s case, an elderly Florida man left messages for the congressman, calling him a \u201cmoron\u201d and accusing him of sleeping with a Chinese spy. The man also threatened Swalwell\u2019s kids, saying, \u201cI\u2019m gonna kill your children.\u201d The man said he was intoxicated at the time he left the messages for Swalwell.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a case this week not featured in Banks\u2019 letter, federal prosecutors <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/texas-man-threatened-kill-us-rep-maxine-waters-sentenced-33-months-pri-rcna157605\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">secured<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  a sentence of 33 months in prison and a $10,000 fine for a Texas man who was convicted of making threats against Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California. The U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Central District of California announced the sentence against Brian Michael Gaherty of Houston on Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gaherty pleaded guilty to leaving four threatening messages for Waters in August and November 2022. In one of the messages, Gaherty threatened to \u201cput a cap\u201d in Waters\u2019 head, \u201ccut [her] throat,\u201d and \u201cstomp\u201d her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) criticized the Department of Justice for not prosecuting threats against his family, contrasting this with their response to similar threats against Democrats. He addressed these concerns to Attorney General Merrick Garland, highlighting the perceived unequal treatment in a letter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":2270445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/06\/Jim-Banks.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2270444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/06\/Jim-Banks.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2270444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2270445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2270444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2270444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2270444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}