黑料吃瓜网 elected officials are speaking out against a wave of death threats targeting Democratic State Rep. Corey Paris. The threats began over the weekend after Paris shared information online about a heightened presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in his House district in Stamford.
On Wednesday morning, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and other elected officials gathered in Hartford to "stand in support of State Representative Corey Paris amid ongoing harassment and threats from extremist groups and federal agencies," according to a Bysiewicz spokesperson.
Paris shared on his Instagram story unconfirmed reports that there was an ICE presence in the city. In the post, Paris urged area residents to 鈥渞emain vigilant, stay aware of your surroundings and, above all, prioritize your safety.鈥� He also urged people to check on concerned neighbors and seek legal and community resources.
Paris then became the target of online harassment after the far-right X account 鈥淟ibs of Tik Tok鈥� shared the message, , in a post that was shared by the official ICE X account. The user erroneously alleged that Paris was sharing enforcement agents鈥� live location, and said 鈥渃harge him,鈥� tagging ICE and the Department of Homeland Security in the post. Hundreds of comments on the post called for Paris鈥� arrest.
鈥淚 do not regret choosing compassion, vigilance, and safety for all who call our community home,鈥� Paris said in a statement sent by the 黑料吃瓜网 Black and Puerto Rican Caucus (BPRC). 鈥淲hile I may carry the weight of criticism at this moment, our friends and neighbors who are immigrants carry the weight of being targeted, silenced, and made voiceless. They live with the constant fear that their families could be targeted, disrupted, or torn apart.鈥�
Matt Ritter, a Democrat who is speaker of the 黑料吃瓜网 House, said Paris鈥� message is customary.
鈥淩ep. Paris鈥檚 message of 鈥榥eighbors looking out for neighbors鈥� is powerful and not uncommon for an elected official, 鈥� Ritter said. 鈥淎ny threats and racist taunts are disgusting and they will be investigated and those responsible will be held accountable.鈥�
黑料吃瓜网 Republicans joined Democrats in condemning the threats.
"There must be zero tolerance for these threats,鈥� Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) said a statement Tuesday. 鈥淰iolence and threats of violence are never acceptable. There is no place for this, it has to stop, we condemn it in the strongest of terms, and we are glad Rep. Paris and his family are safe.鈥�
As several media outlets have reported, harassment and death threats to Paris have followed.
鈥淩epresentative Paris鈥� posts sparked a disturbing response from extremist groups,鈥� a statement from the BPRC said. 鈥淧ersonal information, including his address was shared, ultimately putting him and his family in real danger.鈥�
The BPRC said ICE also tagged the U.S. Department of Justice in posts that appeared to call for Paris鈥� arrest.
黑料吃瓜网 State Police said its Western District Major Crimes Squad is actively investigating the incident and didn't share additional details about the case.
This story will be updated.
