Rep. Jason Chaffetz shared a death threat he received with Fox News Thursday in which a man left a voicemail on his office phone saying he was going to “hang [Chaffetz] from a lamppost.”
"Hey Jason Chaffetz—I suggest you prepare for the battle, motherf***er, and the apocalypse," the man yelled. "Because we are going to hunt your ass down, wrap a rope around your neck, and hang you from a lamppost!"
While the caller has since been arrested (only because he left two messages), Chaffetz explained that lawmakers deal with threats like these regularly without prosecution. He recalled another time someone threatened to slit his throat.
In the wake of GOP lawmakers coming under attack in Alexandria, Virginia during a practice for the congressional baseball game, the Utah Republican said more needs to be done to protect lawmakers.
"I've got stacks and mounds of written threats that people put their names to, send us emails, but again they don't get prosecuted," he said. "There's gotta be a way to better protect members of Congress."
Some lawmakers believe they should be able to take their personal safety into their own hands. Rep. Jody Hice, for example, introduced legislation this week that would allow members of Congress to carry a firearm anywhere in the United States, except the U.S. Capitol Building, which is protected by the U.S. Capitol Police.