Confirmed US Attorney Rachael Rollins Will Not Be Provided Security Detail Despite Death Threats
Federal marshals have reportedly denied a request from newly confirmed US Attorney Rachael Rollins for a full-time security detail.
According to the Boston Globe, they’re rejecting her arguments that recent death threats show she could be in danger. Rollins is the first Black woman to serve as US attorney for Massachusetts. She says threats against her have become more serious since her Senate confirmation vote earlier this month during which Republicans attacked her as a dangerous, pro-criminal prosecutor.
The Globe reports that two people with direct knowledge of the security discussions say a blatantly racist e-mail sent to the Suffolk district attorney’s office on December 9 warned that “SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE IS PLOTTING TO PUT ONE IN YOUR FACE OR HEAD!!!”
“You’ll probably die ... I don’t have the (nerve) to outright kill someone ... but keep going and you will find one (who does have the nerve) ... I hope,” the e-mail, which Rollins turned over to the US Marshals Service for investigation, reads.
After investigating the threats, the Marshals Service, which protects federal officials, declined to provide Rollins with a security detail. An author of a threatening e-mail apologized, according to the two people, resulting in the marshals concluding Rollins was at low risk.
While the US Marshals Service doesn’t routinely provide security to federal officials, they do offer protection for those deemed to face serious threats.
As a US attorney, Rollins is not entitled to protection, a car, or a driver, and is taking a pay cut – from $191,000 to $172,500. She previously had a dedicated Boston Police executive protection unit as a Suffolk district attorney.
“A lot of people don’t recognize [that] as women and as women of color, and particularly as a Black woman, the level of racist, hate-filled death threats that we receive,” Rollins said in a recent appearance on WGBH’s Greater Boston in regards to the threats against her.
Rollins has not yet been sworn in as US attorney, however she expects to start her new job in early January.
