Unprecendented death threats against President - up 400% - Secret Service overwhelmed, underfunded

by: Pam Spaulding

Tue Oct 20, 2009 at 13:45:00 PM EDT

The Boston Globe reports that a new internal Congressional Research Service report and government sources say there are an unprecedented number of death threats against President Obama -- and that the Secret Service is insufficiently funded and staffed to deal with them.

According to The Globe, a report issued by the Congressional Research Service shows that the Secret Service is investigating more threats against government officials than ever before, and questions whether the 144-year old agency should continue probing financial crimes, as was its original mandate.

In total, the Secret Service regularly protects 32 people and arranges security for high-profile events. But the election of Barack Obama has increased threats against the president's life by 400 percent from his predecessor, according to "In the President's Secret Service," Ronald Kessler's account of presidential security.

The Southern Poverty Law Center issued a report back in August that found that the number of white supremacist militia groups has spiked by 35% since 2000. The Secret Service has, in turn, increased its employees from 6,700 two years ago to a projected 7,055 in the coming fiscal year, almost entirely devoted to protecting national leaders. But that's a staff increase of just 5.3 percent -- nowhere near the 400 percent increase in threats to the president's life.

• Pastors praying for Obama's death,
• People carrying signs saying "Death to Obama,"
• The infamous Facebook poll "Should Obama be killed?"
• In Maine: store sign asks customer to bet on Obama assassination
• Two thugs arrested in Denver who had an actual plot to kill Obama