A state senator has become the latest victim of a pipe bomb threat following public dissent of President Donald Trump.
Jean Leising, who has served in the Indiana State Senate since 2008, has acted as a roadblock to GOP redistricting in her home state, often vocalizing her discontent with the measure. Just last week, the 76-year-old offered her opposition once more, saying: “I have not caved on the redistricting issue.”
She also spoke out against the swatting that like-minded Indiana lawmakers have experienced since they sided with her on the motion. Now, just days later, she too has become a victim.
Leising, who oversees Indiana’s 42nd Senate district, has said a pipe bomb threat was directed towards her home in Franklin County on Saturday night. She said the incident is “a result of the D.C. political pundits for redistricting.”
“Thanks to the Oldenburg Town Marshall, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the ISP, all is okay!” she added in a post on X.
In a statement given to the Daily Beast, Leising added: “I believe these threats are a result of the redistricting pressure on Indiana. Threats like these to public officials are unacceptable, and I know law enforcement will do everything they can to bring whoever did this to justice.
“This threat will not stop me from serving my community to the best of my ability. As legislators in the Indiana General Assembly, we must do what is right for our constituents.”
Republican Senators Andy Zay, Kyle Walker, Greg Goode, Linda Rogers, and others, have all said they’ve received threats over the past month.
Governor Mike Braun has said that Indiana State Police will investigate threats made against lawmakers. “Enough is enough,” Braun wrote on X last month.
“These threats to lawmakers, including those received by me and my family in recent days, need to stop. Indiana State Police and their law-enforcement partners have been working around the clock all week to protect lawmakers and investigate threats. Rest assured — if you threaten or attempt to carry out acts of violence against Indiana’s elected officials, we WILL bring you to justice.”
The problem has gone beyond Braun’s state and has spanned party lines. Democratic lawmakers have also been targeted. Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin received a similar bomb threat after she appeared in a video urging military and intelligence officers to “refuse illegal orders” from the Trump administration. Trump cried “sedition,” saying this is punishable by death, causing a wave of dissent towards Slotkin et al.
And after Trump took aim at his former close ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, last month, the Georgia Republican was targeted by hoax pizza deliveries and then a pipe bomb threat.
Trump called Greene a traitor, a disgrace to the Republican party, and withdrew his endorsement in a series of nasty Truth Social posts. This came after she demanded the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and butted heads with her party on healthcare.
After the “pizza doxxing,” MTG wrote on X to reveal that an even more sinister attack followed.
“Update: we also received a pipe bomb threat on my construction companies office building,” Greene wrote in a post. “President Trump’s unwarranted and vicious attacks against me were a dog whistle to dangerous radicals that could lead to serious attacks on me and my family.”
“It could ultimately lead to a harmful or even deadly outcome,” she warned.
Leising has been contacted for comment.
The post Republican Defying Trump Targeted With Sinister Threat appeared first on The Daily Beast.
