Boise mayor speaks out against threats made toward her, her family and other officials
An increasing number of elected officials across the country say they’re facing a high number of threats and harassment. That includes the person holding the highest office in the city of Boise.
Mayor Lauren McLean shared the impact of threats and harassment she has received in a statement released by her office Thursday.
While the statement doesn’t provide details on the nature of the threats, McLean offered some insights into how they have changed her daily routine. She said out of concern for her safety, she no longer travels around Boise without someone knowing where she is, and she now usually has a bodyguard.
“I miss the freedom, privacy, and ease of movement I once took for granted,” she said. “I no longer run the trails alone before daybreak as I’ve done for 24 years. I don’t walk alone to work or hop on my bike whenever I like.”
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the city had mask mandates in place, a number of protests broke out in front of McLean’s home, including one that November, when some demonstrators brought torches.
The mayor said much more violent threats had been made against her family — including her children — and that there had been a series of briefings from law enforcement officials to her and her family on the threats.
“There were threats that went far beyond standing on our front walk,” she said.
McLean said she released the statement because it is “important that we start to tell our stories,” as other officials have slowly begun to do.
But the city is keeping quiet on exactly what threats its elected officials have received. McLean’s office on Thursday declined the Idaho Statesman’s request for an interview with her for additional details.
The Boise Police Department also denied the Statesman’s records request for “any and all Boise Police Department incident and/or supplemental reports concerning threats made toward the Boise city mayor and City Council members” during a specified period. In its response, the department said the request “fails to provide sufficiently specific information” about the incidents.
McLean in her statement defended the city’s position to not release the location of where city employees are traveling to before the trip takes place. Police officers, as well as the mayor’s bodyguard dressed in plain clothes, are now regularly seen at City Council meetings.
McLean’s office had previously been reluctant to discuss her security arrangements.
McLean’s announcement comes as officials around the Treasure Valley are starting to speak up about threats, particularly by those opposed to COVID-19 mandates and those promoting the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
For example, Ada County Commissioner Kendra Kenyon said Feb. 24 that she would not seek a second term, in part because of negative rhetoric surrounding the position.
McLean lamented the rise in threats toward officials, particularly toward female politicians, but said she had no plans of stepping down from her office and that she wouldn’t let “bullying tactics” prevent her from performing her job as mayor.
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