WA officials have faced direct threats. New emergency alerts would warn them
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Senators propose a statewide emergency notification system for public officials
- SB 5853 would alert all public officials after a reported targeted threat
- Bill assigns secretary of state and military department to establish system
Amid a national rise in political violence, lawmakers in Washington are weighing a proposal to establish a statewide emergency public official notification system.
The text of Senate Bill 5853 by state Sen. Jeff Wilson, a Longview Republican, mentions last June’s fatal shooting of Melissa Hortman, Democratic speaker emerita of the Minnesota House of Representatives, and her husband, Mark. The Hortmans were killed at their home.
The same suspect had also gone to the residence of Democratic Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, shooting them both. They survived their injuries.
Another recent high-profile case: the September assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
During a Jan. 23 committee hearing, Wilson cited rising threats of violence against public officials in Washington and the U.S.
“We shouldn’t have to hear a bill like this. We all know this,” he told the Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections Committee. “Times may have changed.”
Washington state officials were shaken up following a break-in at the Olympia Capitol last October, when an intruder vandalized historic artifacts — although his motive was unclear. In 2020, online threats were reportedly made against then-House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox after he suspended then-Rep. Matt Shea, who’d been accused of “domestic terrorism” in an investigation, from the caucus.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins referred to the Minnesota political assassinations during this month’s opening-day remarks. The Tacoma Democrat previously told McClatchy that she’d known Hortman.
Speaking to reporters on Jan. 21, Jinkins pointed to another bill by state Rep. Liz Berry, a Seattle Democrat, addressing protections for political candidates and elected officials.
Jinkins said some lawmakers have faced fairly direct threats, including those who’ve worked to address gun violence, calling it a “serious concern.” She added that when her son was younger, there was a “whole kind of Twitter feed about my wife and I having kidnapped him, even though she gave birth to him … and he needed to be ‘saved.’”
“And that was pretty scary,” Jinkins said. “I’d think somebody might show up at the house to try and ‘save him.’”
SB 5853 would set up an emergency notification system for public officials, who’d be notified of the option to enroll. After the report of a targeted threat, all public officials would be warned.
The alert wouldn’t include the details of the person who made the report, and information held within the new notification system would be exempt from public inspection.
Wilson likened the measure to a “heads-up bill” at Friday’s hearing. Although lawmakers and staff can currently sign up to receive alerts about threats on the Capitol Campus, sometimes lawmakers might be out in public or at home, he said.
“I’m looking for a way that we can communicate on threats and dangers that we all face,” Wilson said.
The bill directs the secretary of state to set up the notification system with the help of the military department. Info sent to this new system would also be shared with the state’s 911 emergency communications system.
Shawn Merchant, policy director for the secretary of state, told the Senate committee that the office supports the concept. Yet questions remain as to how the office would be able to accomplish the bill’s directives, he said, adding that he’d be willing to work with the military department to work on solutions.
Of those not testifying Friday, 192 people registered support for the bill; no one signed in “con.”
SB 5853 is scheduled for an executive session in the same committee on Jan. 30 at 10:30 a.m.
.jpg)