The US Secret Service, on the evening of January 6, 2021, notified the US Capitol Police that it had discovered an online threat – made days earlier – directed toward House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to an email notification obtained by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington through a public records request.
The social media posting from Dec. 31, 2020, included Pelosi among a list of “Enemies,” along with comments such as “January 6 starts #1776 all over again!!” and “Fight for EVERYTHING.” The list, which was posted by a Parler user, also included Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
On January 6, at 5:55 p.m. ET, the Secret Service shared the social media comment with the Capitol Police, writing: “Good afternoon, The US Secret Service is passing notification to the US Capitol Police regarding discovery of a social media threat directed toward Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”
It’s unclear when the post was discovered by Secret Service or if any other action was taken by the agency. Threats against Pelosi are common, and she is not a protectee of the Secret Service.
The Parler user had been on the Secret Service’s radar since at least January 4, 2021. That’s when the agency discovered a threatening post from that account toward then-President-elect Biden that said, “We CANNOT allow #Biden to enter the white house,” according to the email obtained by CREW.
The email goes on to note that additional research identified more “potentially threatening comments” on the same and related accounts, including the one toward Pelosi. Another comment by the Parler user on January 2 said: “Biden will die shortly after being elected. Patriot are gonna tear his head off. Prison is his best case scenario.”
At the time of the notification, the person who posted the comments was not identified due to a “lack of identifying information.” It’s unclear if their identity was later discovered.
“While we do not comment on issues pertaining to protective intelligence, the United States Secret Service has an outstanding working relationship with all law enforcement agencies in the National Capitol Region,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the US Secret Service, said in a statement.
“The Secret Service works tirelessly to share pertinent information with our law enforcement partners. In the communication where there was a reference to Speaker Pelosi, that information was provided to the US Capitol Police for their situational awareness.”
This story has been updated with a statement from the Secret Service.