Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s campaign has been in contact with the FBI about emailed death threats about the hopeful and his staff and supporters, NBC News confirmed Tuesday.
The Hill reported earlier Tuesday that the Yang campaign reached out to the FBI about the threats during the candidate’s latest swing through New Hampshire.
A Yang campaign official said that it received emailed threats Monday about Yang and specific public events and immediately contacted the FBI and local law enforcement out of an abundance of caution.
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“The candidate’s safety and the safety of the public at large is our utmost priority, and we’ll continue to stay alert while following the guidance of law enforcement to take any necessary security measures. We’ve referred the matter to the FBI for investigation,” the campaign official said.
The FBI declined to comment.
Yang was on a campaign trip to New Hampshire, which included a town hall in Hanover on Monday. At a campaign office opening in Manchester on Tuesday, a police officer was present. It is Yang’s eighth field office in New Hampshire, and the trip was his last event on this swing in the state.
Yang is among 15 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination.
On Tuesday, Sen. Kamala Harris of California dropped out of the race, telling supporters that her campaign “simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.”
Yang tweeted that he was “stunned” by Harris’ announcement. “I’ve been with Kamala dozens of times now on the trail,” he said Tuesday in New London, New Hampshire. ” I consider her a friend, you know we have each other’s cellphone numbers and text occasionally, and it makes me very sad to see her drop out.
“She has a lot to offer the country — it’s more human than people think. I’m going to miss seeing her a great deal,” Yang said.
Tom Winter contributed.