Advertisement

Death threats follow Ariz. ruling

PHOENIX, July 31 (UPI) -- U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton has received hundreds of threats since blocking parts of Arizona's immigration law, a U.S. marshal says in Phoenix.

U.S. Marshal David Gonzales indicated his agents are taking some of those threats seriously, the Gannett News Service reported. "She has been inundated. About 99.9 percent of the inappropriate comments are people venting," he said. "They are exercising their First Amendment rights, and a lot of it is perverted. But it's that 0.1 percent that goes over the line that we are taking extra seriously."

Advertisement

Bolton issued the injunction Wednesday in a challenge brought to the law by the U.S. Justice Department, temporarily barring a provision that orders police to question people about their immigration status. The injunction also temporarily blocks a provision that criminalizes failure to apply for or carry alien registration papers, and a third that makes it illegal "for an unauthorized alien to solicit, apply for or perform work."

Portions of the law not included in Bolton's injunction went into effect Thursday.

After Bolton's ruling, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer filed an appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Brewer is seeking an expedited appeal, meaning oral arguments could be heard by mid-September, The Arizona Republic said.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines