Two days ago, several of Trump’s cabinet candidates were targeted with violent threats.

Unfortunately, those actions were mostly perceived by federal law enforcement and the legacy media as a “no never mind."

The threats ranged from bomb threats to what's known as 'swatting,' which is a hoax call that claims the target is in a life-threatening situation. These calls intend to draw out heavily armed SWAT teams to the locations which is inherently dangerous to all involved. Initial reactions from “three senior law enforcement officials” claimed that the threats were not credible:

No devices or physical threats were found and some of the threats may have come in over social media, the officials said. The threats did not involve U.S. Secret Service protectees such as Trump or Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The FBI decided to put a more concerned face on these incidents and treated them a bit more seriously:

The FBI said in a statement it “is aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners. We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.”

The FBI apparently thinks that local law enforcement should handle these threats.

In trying to discern who was threatened, many of the media outlets weren’t able to put together a complete list; apparently identifying everyone involved was not a priority.

Fox News reported that nearly a dozen people were targeted, but were only able to identify Elise Stefanik, nominee to ambassador to the United Nations; Lee Zeldin, nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency; Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration for Attorney General; John Ratcliffe, nominee for CIA director; Pete Hegseth, nominee to Secretary of Defense.

Other publications reported the targeting of Brooke Rollins, nominated to head the Department of Agriculture; Lori Chavez-DeRemer, nominee for Secretary of Labor; and Howard Lutnick, nominee for Secretary of Commerce.

Tom Homan, selected as border czar, had this to say:

Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan spoke with Fox News on ‘The Story’ Wednesday and said that up until today he had not been taking threats against himself and his family ‘seriously’ but after the recent developments with other officials being threatened, he now does. 

The good news was that (surprisingly) local law enforcement was very responsive to these incidents, checking out homes and mailboxes for pipe bombs.

Still, two factors caused me some concern.

The first was statements by some people that suggested the hoaxes were not a big deal:

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe responded to reports that President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks received threats, saying the news isn’t surprising.

‘It doesn’t surprise me at all,’ McCabe told CNN’s Erica Hill in an interview on ‘The Lead’ Wednesday evening. ‘This has become a very, very common aspect of life for really anyone who is in a high-profile or even remotely controversial position.’

‘It’s been going on for years. It presents the same challenge to law enforcement each time someone engages in it,’ he added. ‘They probably know, 90 percent sure, that these threats, as they come in, are worthless.’

So it’s no big deal, right, Andrew?

His tone suggests that people are making a big deal out of nothing. That’s not a good look for the former FBI Deputy Director.

The other factor that I could not help noticing is the number of Jews that were targeted in the series of threats: Elise Stefanik, Lee Zeldin, and Howard Lutnick. Since the religions of the other victims were not identified, nor was there certainty that all the targets had been identified, it’s difficult to know if there was any anti-Semitism involved with these attacks.

Maybe being a Jew isn’t what so many of them have in common:

His first national security picks are die-hard supporters, some of whom have denied the existence of the Palestinian people and back the annexation of the occupied West Bank. These loyalists are set to advance his ‘America First’ and hardline populist agenda in a second term. They could signal some shifts in longstanding U.S. policy, especially regarding a possible conflict with Iran and resolving conflicts in the Middle East.

So maybe they’re only “pro-Zionists.”

After all, the perpetrators sent a clear message to Lee Zeldin:

‘A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at my home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message’ the Zeldin statement read. ‘My family and I were not home at the time and are safe. We are working with law enforcement to learn more as this situation develops. We are thankful for the swift actions taken by local officers to keep our family, neighbors, and local community secure.’

Meanwhile, the story has pretty much fallen off the radar; the Wall Street Journal news section buried it in the middle of the paper.

Maybe it’s anti-Zionism. Maybe it’s anti-Semitism. Maybe it's Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Or maybe we should thank Andrew McCabe for his wisdom and simply assume these threats go with the territory.

Image: Georgfotoart, derivative work, via Wikipedia // CC BY 2.0 Deed