America is getting more dangerous. And anyone could be next.
Now a bomb threat against major political figure sends alarm bells ringing.
A Manifesto, A Photo, And The Word “Boom”
The day before Brad Raffensperger arrived at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon for a campaign stop, someone mailed him a four-page, handwritten manifesto.
The document targeted the Georgia Secretary of State and Republican gubernatorial candidate by name. It came with a photograph of Raffensperger — and the word “Boom” written across his forehead.
“It was obviously targeting the secretary of state,” campaign spokesperson Ryan Mahoney told the New York Times.
Raffensperger has received hundreds of threats since 2020, when he refused President Trump’s request to “find” votes after the presidential election in Georgia. He has lived with the consequences of that decision — a decision many conservatives believe was wrong, and one that has made him a deeply polarizing figure in his own party — for six years. The manifesto was, in that sense, a continuation of a pattern that began the moment he chose to certify Georgia’s results. Tuesday’s events were something more immediate.
At the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, just before a 10 a.m. campaign event as part of Raffensperger’s “Standing for Georgia” fly-around tour, bomb squad K-9 units sweeping the facility detected a suspicious object concealed inside a vending machine in a secure area of the airport. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office was called at 8:20 a.m. The bomb squad secured the object for examination. No hazardous device was ultimately found, and no travelers or public members were present. The airport was closed during the investigation and reopened by 12:45 p.m.
Mahoney confirmed the incident was being treated as a credible threat. Whether the suspicious object was connected to the manifesto received the day before remained unclear.
Raffensperger’s Response: No Retreat
Raffensperger’s public statement following the incident was as direct as any he has issued in years of facing down threats.
“When you stand on principle, when you do the right thing, when you put people ahead of politics, not everyone will like it. In fact, some people may try to intimidate you or do you harm,” Raffensperger said.
He went on: “So yes, we are dealing with an active threat. And no, I will not back down. I’ll continue fighting for what’s right, and I’ll continue standing for Georgia — no matter what.”
Whatever one’s view of Raffensperger’s decisions in 2020, that is an unambiguous statement of physical courage from a man who has known for years that a meaningful fraction of people with strong political feelings regard him as an enemy. He is running for governor in a Republican primary against a crowded field that includes Lt. Governor Burt Jones and Attorney General Chris Carr, among others. His path is difficult. His willingness to campaign regardless is not in question.
The Pattern — And The Broader Warning
The manifesto and bomb scare are not isolated incidents. They are the latest manifestation of a political violence atmosphere that has claimed multiple assassination attempts against President Trump, produced armed standoffs with federal officials, and — as seen just weeks ago at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner — can erupt at any moment in any setting.
Raffensperger’s situation illustrates the specific danger facing public officials who made decisions that powerful political factions found unforgivable. He made a call in 2020 that a significant portion of the Republican base regards as a betrayal. That does not justify a manifesto with a photograph defaced with the word “Boom.” It does not justify concealing a suspicious object in an airport vending machine. Nothing justifies political violence or the threat of it, and anyone who claims to support constitutional democracy must be willing to say so clearly — regardless of what they think of the target.
Raffensperger is doing that. He is still running, still touring, still asking voters for the chance to govern a state that has complicated feelings about him. “I will stand for you. And I will stand for Georgia no matter what,” he said Tuesday. Under the circumstances, that sentence requires real conviction to mean.
