Death Threats, Intimidation Mar Speaker Race in Age of Extremism
- US speaker contest is latest political cause to incite threats
- Hardliner Jordan has denied involvement in intimidation effort
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Death threats and political intimidation have erupted from the struggle to decide the US House speaker, highlighting how extremism and enmity in the American electorate are deepening the political divide in Washington.
Jim Jordan, a hardline conservative endorsed by Trump in the speaker race, had been counting on mobilizing the party’s populist wing to pressure recalcitrant lawmakers to support his bid. Right-wing media figures including Glenn Beck and Fox News’s Sean Hannity unleashed attacks on his opponents.