Watchdog files lawsuit over threatening letters sent to Trump supporters before 2024 election

An election integrity watchdog has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two President Trump supporters who received threatening letters ahead of the November 2024 election for their support of the then-GOP presidential nominee.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday to learn who sent the letters to the Philadelphia-area supporters, who each had Trump signs on their respective properties. 

The lawsuit also asks the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to declare that the culprits violated both the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.

In October, the two plaintiffs received at their homes "specifically targeted letters that included a Trump 2024 logo at the top of the page and closed with: 'Your vote for this guy is seen as treading on my rights. You tread on me at your peril, motherf-cker. We look forward to visiting in the future,'" according to the lawsuit.

The letters also read, "[W]e know where you live, you are in the data base [sic]. 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."

Both Trump supporters contacted police about the letters but have not heard back. One of the two plaintiffs also met with a U.S. Postal Inspector to discuss the incident, since the letter was mailed to them. 

The defendants in the lawsuit are labeled as “John Doe 1 and John Doe 2” because their identities are unknown. The plaintiffs are seeking discovery to determine the identities of the defendants.

The lawsuit also asks the court to permanently enjoin "the Defendants and anyone working in concert with them, from sending threatening letters or otherwise engaging in threats, intimidation or coercion of voters in violation of Section 11(b) of the VRA and the Ku Klux Klan Act."

PILF President J. Christian Adams told the John Solomon Reports podcast on April 21 that state police appear to have not pursued the people sending threatening letters to Trump supporters.

"[W]e're alleging that you aren't allowed under federal law to threaten to kill people if they say they want to vote for Trump. It just doesn't work that way in America -- you actually cannot intimidate people with death threats if they want to vote," Adams said.

"And by the way, where is the Pennsylvania [Governor] Josh Shapiro on this? Like, wasn't he just grandstanding about, you know, political rhetoric and toning it down? Well, here we go, Josh, how about the Pennsylvania State Police who've done nothing?"

In February 2024, Shapiro, a Democrat, launched the Pennsylvania Election Threats Task Force "to mitigate threats to the election process, protect voters from intimidation, and provide voters with accurate, trusted election information."

Adams added that one of the purposes of the lawsuit is "to find out what the Pennsylvania State Police and the postal inspectors are doing. It shouldn't be up to private groups like the Public Interest Legal Foundation to get to the bottom of death threats in a federal election."