A fake distress call prompted a police response at the secretary of state’s home in December.

A bomb threat and mail containing a “white powdery substance” caused two separate evacuations of the State House in January.

And on Friday, an email sent to state officials said bombs were planted in the State House and in the homes of two lawmakers, prompting another evacuation.

Lawmakers are calling for increased security around the state Capitol after these and other threats targeting state officials and the State House.

The possible changes include a new security checkpoint at the Burton M. Cross Office Building, which houses legislative committees and state offices, and additional police and security positions to help respond to “a substantial increase in legislative requests for additional security on the chamber floor when in session and at committee hearings.”

The Legislature’s top officers said the recent security threats are part of a troubling pattern.

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, sees the trend as a threat to the democratic process, her spokesperson said Monday.

“Disagreement is an integral part of democracy, but it must be expressed through peaceful means and respectful discourse,” Mary-Erin Casale said. “Violence, intimidation, or any form of threat has no place in our political landscape. Speaker Talbot Ross will continue to remain vigilant and work in partnership with Capitol Police to implement comprehensive measures to safeguard the State House. This includes increased security personnel, enhanced surveillance systems and regular review of our current safety protocols.”

Visitors to the State House already go through security screening. But that’s not the case at the Cross building, which is attached to the State House through an underground tunnel.

Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, finds the increase in threats “alarming and unacceptable,” his spokesperson said.

“People have every right to contact their elected officials to express their support or opposition to a policy proposal, legislative decision or statement,” Christine Kirby said. “Mainers also have every right to express their anger and frustration based on a lawmaker’s words or actions. However, there is no place for vulgar, repulsive and quite frankly, cowardly threats to the safety and well-being of lawmakers, their families and their communities.”

Capitol police said they could not provide information Monday about the additional requests for security staff this session or the number of threats referred for investigation by individual lawmakers.

But national surveys have found an increase of abuse aimed at state and local lawmakers, especially women and elected officials of color.

The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, a left-leaning nonprofit legal and public policy institute, surveyed more than 1,700 state and local officials through October. It found that 43% of state legislators reported receiving abuse, with 38% reporting an increase in the amount of abuse and 29% reporting an increase in the seriousness of the abuse.

Abuse, according to the center, includes insults, harassment, threats and physical attacks reported by state and local elected officials.

MAINE MIRRORS NATIONAL TREND

Trends among lawmakers in Maine are unclear, but anecdotal evidence shows similar patterns here.

On Friday, the State House was evacuated after a bomb threat was emailed to officials there and to two Democratic lawmakers and the Maine Democratic Party. The motive is not clear, but the threats targeted leaders of a committee that earlier in the week had heard a contentious bill that would shield Maine health care providers who treat patients from states that ban or limit abortions or gender-affirming care.

Some Republican opponents of the bill said that it would lead to children being “trafficked” to get gender-affirming care, a claim dismissed by proponents. The emailed bomb threat promised “death to pedophiles” and claimed the bombs would “detonate in a few hours.” The email ended with an expletive.

Also last week, lawmakers decided to hold a public hearing on a mental health bill in the State House, rather than the committee’s regular meeting location in the Cross building, so that people coming to the hearing would have to pass through security, a Democratic staffer said.

Friday’s threat was the second bomb scare this session. On Jan. 3, the State House was one of two dozen state capitols across the United States to receive a bomb threat. That threat occurred on the first day of Maine’s new legislative session and coincided with a massive rally in support of gun safety bills. About 300 people were evacuated from Maine’s State House and waited in the Cross building while police determined it was a hoax.

The Cross building was evacuated on Jan. 24 because of a “white, powdery substance” found in a piece of mail sent to the elections office of the secretary of state.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, faced an onslaught of threats in response to her December ruling that former President Donald Trump was ineligible for the Republican presidential primary ballot in Maine because of his role in the Jan. 6 riots. Bellows, whose home was the target of a so-called swatting incident, reversed that decision after the U.S Supreme Court ruled that states lacked authority to make that decision.

And last year, Democratic lawmakers, including Talbot Ross, received flyers from white nationalists calling them “baby killer” and “lower than child moelesters (sic) and rapists” at a time lawmakers were considering a bill to track and address domestic terrorism and threats in response to successful effort to expand abortion access in Maine,

The rise in political threats, plus the mass shooting in Lewiston last fall, prompted lawmakers to hold a rare, in-person active shooter training last month.

THREATS NOT LIMITED TO DEMOCRATS

Threats have not been limited to Democratic lawmakers. Assistant House Minority Leader Amy Arata, R-New Gloucester, said she also received the same anti-Semitic flyers sent to Democrats last summer and has received troubling emails, mail and phone messages from people she believes are mentally unstable.

“We’d like to think we can serve our constituents without worrying about threats, but I guess that’s not the world we live in anymore,” Arata said.

House Republicans have yet to receive answers about the investigations into the swatting incident and bomb threats. The caucus sent a letter on Friday to Michael Sauschuck, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, reiterating its prior request for more information about the investigation, as well as any role that the Maine Information and Analysis Center, known as a fusion center, is playing.

“We’re wondering why the people who are doing this aren’t getting caught,” Arata said, noting the number of grammar and spelling mistakes in some of the threats. “How are they intelligent enough to cover their tracks, when they’re not intelligent enough to write a coherent sentence?”

Arata noted, however, that Republicans have previously opposed investing in State House security without also addressing security at Maine’s public schools.

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said the FBI is still investigating the January bomb threat and that Capitol Police are coordinating with the FBI on the most recent incident.

The fusion center, Moss said, “is an information sharing entity not an investigative unit, however, we confer with them when needed.”

The FBI declined to provide an update, citing the ongoing investigation.

“The FBI takes hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk,” FBI spokesperson Kristen Setera said. “While we have no information to indicate a specific and credible threat, we will continue to work with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to gather, share and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention. We urge the public to remain vigilant, and report any and all suspicious activity and/or individuals to law enforcement immediately.”

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles enforcement division is investigating the threats against Bellows and the investigation into the swatting incident remains open, said Emily Cook, spokesperson for the secretary of state. She said the suspicious powder investigation was closed, because it did not appear to be an intentional act.

6 OFFICERS WOULD BE ADDED

A recommendation endorsed by the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee calls for adding $300,000 to the state budget for six more officers, who would staff a new security screening entrance at the Cross building. The staffing proposal includes three security agents, a lead security agent, a Capitol Police officer and a Capitol Police sergeant.

The committee also recommends $143,000 for two intermittent positions – a Capitol Police officer and a security agent – to handle an increased number of requests from lawmakers for extra security.

Capitol Police Chief Matthew Clancy said his department only recently began tracking requests for additional security at committee meetings, but they have become more frequent. “And at times, we had multiple requests for the same day and time,” he said. “The Capitol Police is a small unit, and conflicting service requests can be a challenge to fulfill but we do our best in that regard.”

Sharon Huntley, spokesperson for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said the agency expects to put the construction of a new security screening center for the south entrance of the Cross building out bid sometime this fall. That project also will include a communications upgrade for an emergency alert system for the Capitol Complex using text, voice and email, she said.

Discussions also are underway about establishing a temporary security screening area for the west entrance of the Cross building beginning January 2025, Huntley said, but no final decisions have been made.

Security screening was added to the State House in 2012. The state had owned the security screening machines for a decade before installing them after U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, of Arizona, was shot, and a state representative was arrested and charged with pointing a gun at a man in Waterville.

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