Threats made against political candidates, volunteers in Scottsdale

By J. Graber
Mail | X: @AzNewsmedia

Being part of the political process is getting dangerous in Scottsdale this election season.

Scottsdale resident Tammy Caputi, who is running on the Democratic ticket for the Legislative District 4 senatorial race, has received two death threats against her and her family within the last week.

Also, a volunteer for Dr. Jennifer Johnson, a Democrat running in what is supposed to be a nonpartisan school board race, was accosted by a man while putting up campaign signs Oct. 15.

Caputi has reported the threats, one of which uses antisemitic rhetoric, to the Scottsdale Police Department.

The police have also reported the situation to the FBI, she said.

A spokeswoman for the police said “detectives are actively following up on investigative leads to help determine the source of the threat(s).”

The volunteer for Johnson’s campaign, who asked to remain anonymous, said she did not report her incident to the police, which occurred on Oct. 15, despite the fact the man pointed a finger within inches of her face and called her a misogynistic expletive, because he did not make a verbal threat against her.

She has, however, posted on another volunteer’s Instagram site a video of the part of the confrontation in which she is in her car and continuing to do her job when the man approached her again and called her the same name.

“You know, it’s the school board, a school board race should not be this ... people should not be this angry and disgusted over it,” she said. “It’s our children for goodness sake.”

The first threat against Caputi came through her campaign website on Oct. 18. The person threatened to kill Caputi and her family in a statement using profanity and antisemitic language.

Caputi is Jewish.

The person who wrote the threat actually signed a name to it.

“The fact that somebody felt emboldened enough to put their name with their hateful, antisemitic death threat is what gets me the most,” Caputi said.

A second threat came through the website Oct. 19. It said, “If you keep running for office, I will come to your house and you will regret it. Watch your back.”

Caputi said she used to campaign by knocking on doors alone, but she now has a volunteer come with her because of the threats, which she attributes to lies being spread about her.

“There have been so many false facts spread about me in the last few weeks about my policy decisions, about my voting record as a (Scottsdale City) councilwoman, and even about ... my personal life and my living situation,” Caputi said. “I just think all these false attacks and these accusations are raising the temperature and the toxicity of the political environment. They’ve contributed to these individuals threatening me and my family.”

But the threats have not deterred her from running, Caputi said.

“You have to stand up to hate,” she said. “You can never make it seem normal.”

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J. Graber
News Editor | Scottsdale

jgraber@iniusa.org

 Meet J.

Graber joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in February 2023, starting his career as a staff writer covering the City of Scottsdale and was named news editor of the Scottsdale Independent in 2024.

Community: He serves on the altar guild as well as being an usher at St. Mathews Episcopal Church in Chandler.  

Education: He earned his BA in creative writing with a minor in journalism from the University of Arizona. He then earned an MS in Mass Communications from the University of Oregon.

Random Fact: He enjoys reading novels by Russian authors.

Hobbies: Playing classical guitar, reading, fishing, going to the gym, watching sports and spending time with his family.