Some people who reported suspected violations of Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home proclamations are receiving death threats and harassment after their names and contact information were released by the state and made public on social media by people who obtained the information.

Nine spreadsheets containing thousands of names, phone numbers and email addresses were posted on Facebook pages Wednesday.

On Thursday, hundreds of people listed on the documents received an email titled, “Lowlife scumbag whistleblower snitches,” which singled out people who complained about businesses in the Sumner and Puyallup areas.

The email writer, who identified themselves as “Julie Johnson,” called the recipients derogatory names and pointed out nine people who made more than one complaint. The e-mailer did not immediately respond to an interview request from The News Tribune.

Tacoma resident Aram West received the email on Thursday. He had made a complaint about a Tacoma pawn shop that was open and operating in late March.

West thought his complaint would remain anonymous.

“I would have assumed that a state website would have that under control,” he said, referring to nondisclosure of identities.

Since he made the complaint in March, emotions and the political climate around stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus have increased across the nation.

“At the time, people were also not as unhinged as they are now,” West told The News Tribune. “I didn’t think people would get quite this extreme.”

https://www.anti-empire.com/some-people-who-reported-shutdown-viola...