NC officials investigating threats to Supreme Court candidates
Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin and Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs are facing increased threats amid an ongoing dispute over the 2024 election.
More than four months after the Nov. 5 election, state officials are investigating threats against Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin and Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs.
“I can confirm that the Marshals of the Supreme Court of NC are investigating threats against Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin and Justice Riggs,” Graham Wilson, a spokesman for the state court system, said in an email. “I am not able to share any other details at this time.”
After Riggs overtook Griffin’s lead in the state Supreme Court race, Griffin and the North Carolina Republican Party sued to overturn the election, arguing that more than 66,000 votes should be retroactively discarded due to some combination of missing voter registration information, lack of voter residency or lack of a photo ID for some mail-in ballots.
In none of the three protest categories has Griffin identified a single voter who violated rules in place at the time of the election. Rather, he’s seeking to remove ballots over what he sees as the State Board of Elections improperly carrying out the election.
That dispute is now in the hands of the state Court of Appeals, where it will then be appealed to the NC Supreme Court, followed by a possible appeal to federal court.
As the dispute has unfolded, both candidates have received threatening messages. Riggs’ campaign on Thursday provided Anderson Alerts with copies of electronic and written threats, and confirmation of a state investigation into such communications.
Blannie Miller, a private attorney for Griffin’s family, said the Griffins have received more than threatening 100 letters in the mail. She declined to provide any such examples, citing concerns with the potential for copycat attacks.
On Thursday, Griffin’s family sent a news release on the heels of a recent family tragedy. Their daughter, Maggie, died a couple weeks ago. Kayte, Griffin’s wife, gave birth to Maggie at 23 weeks, and the child died days later.
Miller accused Democratic-leaning groups of inspiring threats in Griffin’s home of Carteret County, despite no evidence of such groups inviting people to criticize Griffin, let alone contact him.
“For months, the Griffins’ young family has been subjected to vicious personal attacks targeting them at their home– a tactic that has become all too common in today’s angry and polarized political environment,” Miller wrote in a news release. “Even after the groups coordinating these activities were notified about the family’s recent tragedy, the cruel attacks continued.”
Riggs on Thursday shared a statement expressing her condolences to Griffin’s family and thanking state officials for investigating threatening messages both candidates have received.
“I am so grateful to the Supreme Court Marshals and local law enforcement who have continued to work hard to keep my family and Judge Griffin's family safe,” Riggs said. “My heart breaks for the Griffin family's loss and my prayers are with them through this difficult time.”
When asked for specific examples of threats to Griffin, Miller cited a flier circulated by Bob Hall, the former executive director of Democracy North Carolina. The flier was a copy of an editorial that Hall had submitted to a number of publications. The editorial didn’t include any violent language or call to action from voters.
Hall told Anderson Alerts he handed out those fliers as part of an effort to inform North Carolinians about the ongoing Supreme Court election dispute. He said he was sorry to hear about Griffin’s family tragedy, but warned against conflating that with his editorial.
“I’m very sorry to hear about their daughter and the family, but there’s not a connection in any way,” Hall said.
Miller also took aim at Common Cause North Carolina for running billboards near Griffin’s home.
Bob Phillips, the group’s executive director, confirmed his organization ran billboards in Morehead City and Newport, which are several miles away from Griffin’s home.
The billboard highlighted the group’s frustration with Griffin’s ongoing efforts to discard more than 60,000 votes, calling his protest “shameful.” But the billboard didn’t urge passersby to contact Griffin. Artwork reviewed by Anderson Alerts shows the billboard was merely an effort to inform the public about the ongoing legal dispute.
“We are certainly very saddened to learn of the personal tragedy that Judge Griffin and his family have gone through and are wishing them all the comfort, privacy and peace that they deserve at this time,” Phillips said.
Miller further shared a Facebook comment posted to Progress North Carolina Action’s Facebook page, where a person not associated with the group shared Griffin’s home address.
Transparency Note: Amid a bipartisan push to prevent threats against elected officials, the paywall for this story is being lifted.
Threats against either candidate are tasteless. If they can be traced to their source(s) those who made them should be prosecuted. However, the prolonged ballot challenged supported by NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby and State Senate President Phil Berger (whose son also is a NC Supreme Court Justice is embarrassing for North Carolina and Democracy