U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick sent staff in his Cumming office home Tuesday after it was targeted by “serious threats of violence.”

McCormick, a first-term Republican who lives in Suwanee, wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that the threats were reported to U.S. Capitol Police, which has jurisdiction over members in Washington and their district offices.

A spokeswoman for McCormick declined to share details about the threats received and whether they referenced any of his recent work at the Capitol. Staff members are safe and working from home; the district’s phone lines are still open and calls are being answered, but the physical office is closed indefinitely.

McCormick took center stage on the House floor Tuesday, leading an effort to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, over comments she made during pro-Palestine protests. The House voted to move forward with McCormick’s censure resolution, which was rushed to the House floor for a vote late Tuesday. The 234-188 tally came after enough Democrats joined with Republicans to censure Tlaib, a punishment one step below expulsion from the House.

That put McCormick at odds with fellow Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has her own competing censure resolution. Greene’s measure is struggling to gain support now that lawmakers have given McCormick’s legislation the green light.

Supporters of both Greene and Tlaib have criticized McCormick. It’s unclear whether the threats to his office are related.

The incident occurred on the same day that an Atlanta man carrying a long gun was arrested near the U.S. Capitol. Ahmir Lavon Merrell, who is currently on probation in Fulton County, prompted several street closures in a park north of the Capitol after he was spotted with a rifle, Capitol Police said.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Georgia Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox, angry about an article, burns a copy of The Atlanta Constitution in the state Senate on March 10, 1971, saying the paper did not have the "guts, integrity, manhood or decency" to report the situation accurately. (AJC file)

Credit: AP FILE

Featured

Ja’Quon Stembridge, shown here in July at the Henry County Republican Party monthly meeting, recently stepped from his position with the Georgia GOP. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

Credit: Jenni Girtman