SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A letter received by two Utah state legislators who support an Arizona-style immigration law tells them real reform must be carried out by "word and bullet."
The letter purports to come from a group called the "United Front for Defense of Immigrants," The Salt Lake Tribune reports. State police say they are treating the letter as a serious threat.
"We don't want to overreact, but at the same time, we don't want to risk not taking it seriously," Public Safety Commissioner Lance Davenport said. "Because the world we live in now is the way it is, we want to do the right thing and protect our legislators."
State Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, an Orem Republican and the author of HB-70, the immigration law, said he decided to get in touch with police after two weekend incidents when eggs were thrown at his car and tomatoes at his daughter's.
"A comprehensive immigration reform has never and will never be established in Utah through peaceful dialogs, civil discourse, or the Mormon Church involvement," the letter said. "It will be established as any other revolutionary changes always have been ... by pen and gun, by word and bullet, by tongue and teeth."
Chris Herrod, a Provo Republican who also received the letter, said immigration enforcement is a "moral issue" and he will not be deterred by threats.
