Texas red county Democratic party receives threat
Last edited Tue Nov 9, 2021, 09:09 PM - Edit history (1)
For context, we are in a very red, rural county in Texas. I am one of a couple of volunteers who field calls and messages on a Google Voice number our county Democratic party maintains. We decided to get a Google Voice number about three years ago because we can afford free. That number can accept calls, voice messages, and text messages, which are transcribed and forwarded to whatever volunteers we set up. We do not have physical phone lines, as we cannot afford to maintain office space on a long-term basis, so this setup allows us to receive calls at no cost without physical infrastructure. It has proven to be valuable when local news organizations want to reach out for local party comment on specific stories.
I was out to lunch Saturday when I noticed someone had left a voice message. The guy said that he was doing a search on John Ratcliffe, a Republican (DNI under Trump), and our site showed up in the results. He concluded that we must have done that on purpose becaue we are sneaky lying cocksuckers, and ended the call with the threat that "somebody may find you someday and it's gonna be the last thing you ever see."
Well not only did the dumbass not understand how search engine results work, he didn't think to block his number on caller ID so we were able to forward the numer, the transcript, and voice recording to the local sheriff. We have learned that law enforcement has a voice database for such things, so that is promising. However, the sheriff is a Republican (because that is the only way to get elected around here), so he might not bother with the complaint at all. We have a pretty good relationship with him, so it's possible, but most of us are pessimistic that anything will be done.
Our ultimate conclusion is that voilent threats are a real thing and we need to remain vigilant.