Haaland Chairs Subcommittee Hearing Aimed at Protecting Public Servants from Extremist Attacks

WASHINGTON, D.C. --  Amidst growing anti-government rhetoric, Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01) chaired a committee hearing aimed at protecting public servants from extremist attacks. This morning the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that public servants working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service reported incidents ranging from threats over the phone to attempted murder.

“When we hear about the threats to federal employees who work on our public lands face, we have a responsibility to address it. So, we’re hosting a hearing to make sure people know that anti-government rhetoric has consequences for regular folks on the ground who are going to work every day and doing their jobs as public servants. We hope to learn how we can protect federal employees, and better understand these extremist threats,” said Congresswoman Deb Haaland.   

During her line of questioning, Haaland focused on the impacts that the spread of anti-government rhetoric would have on communities across the country.

In response to Congresswoman Haaland’s question about general sentiments toward public servants, Professor Peter Walker with the Department of Geography at the University of Oregon voiced concerns about anti-government sentiments spreading to a wider range of groups with white supremacist views stating, “What they were advocating for was essentially the overthrow of the federal government…they made that message very clear. Other groups who are also advocating for the overthrow of the federal government heard that message…their movement to a large degree has a history tied to racism, xenophobia and anti-immigrant policy.”