Republican hints death threats against family forced his resignation

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) suggests death threats may have motivated his resignation from Congress, a WLUK report revealed Wednesday.

Gallagher announced he would not seek re-election in February after he refused to support the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Instead of stepping out of the post after the election, he decided to leave on April 19. Now, he's revealing details about the possible reason why.

"This is more just me wanting to prioritize being with my family," Gallagher reportedly said. "I signed up for the death threats and the late-night swatting, but they did not. And for a young family, I would say this job is really hard."

A local NBC News affiliate spoke to the Brown County Sheriff's Office, which patrols the town in which Gallagher lives, and reported, "A case number was assigned late last year to a swatting incident related to the congressman."

The sheriff's office also reached out to U.S. Capitol Police and the investigation was handed over to federal authorities in January, according to the report.

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An FBI spokesperson told the outlet Capitol Police is leading the investigation.

"Anytime a Member of Congress is the victim of a 'swatting' incident, we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners," the statement said. "To protect the ongoing investigations and to minimize the risk of copy-cats, we cannot provide more details at this time."

Fox News' Chad Pergram posted on the social media site X Wednesday that Gallagher might delay his April 19 departure.

"Gallagher may slightly delay his resignation to stick around for the weekend to help the House pass the now-released foreign aid package," wrote Pergram. "Fox is told there have been talks between Gallagher and House leaders about the need for his vote and the prospects of when he might make his resignation effective."