A New Mexico state Senator fled his home Sunday after receiving different threatening voice messages throughout the end of the week, saying the threats were associated with his criticisms of a local protest against COVID-19 restrictions where many attendees were not wearing masks or social distancing.
Jacob Candelaria got the messages, which included homophobic slurs against the transparently gay senator, on Saturday night and Sunday morning. In one recording, the caller can be heard saying “we will get you out somehow.”
Candelaria started receiving message around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, and reached police at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning after receiving several more.
The messages were sent hours after the senator appeared on a newscast criticizing a protest against COVID-19 restrictions outside the statehouse. Candelaria criticized the protesters for not wearing masks and behaving irresponsibly while COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
In the morning, Candelaria asked his private security detail to trace the caller’s phone number. The caller had “an extensive criminal history” and an “open warrant,” the state Senator said.
He later claimed police provided little assistance.
“We reached out for help today from our state to protect us. That help had been denied,” Candelaria wrote on Twitter.
“The state police came to my house 13 hours later. I played these tapes, their response was to yell and my husband and I for being upset. When I asked if they thought this was a threat, they said ‘meh, depends how you hear it.’”
