The Colorado Secretary of State has temporarily taken down a state campaign finance website in response to the Minnesota assassination plots against Democratic lawmakers, Axios reported on Monday.
The attack, in which the gunman staked out the homes of Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party legislators to shoot, resulted in the killing of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, and injuries to state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.
The suspect, Vance Boelter, has been caught and faces federal and state murder charges. Boelter, a Trump voter according to one acquaintance, is believed to have compiled a list of other DFL lawmakers for assassination as well.
In Colorado, officials are reportedly fearful that the way the campaign finance database records personal details about candidates could expose them to similar attacks, as both Minnesota lawmakers who were shot listed their addresses in public information.
"The state's Transparency in Contribution and Expenditure Reporting database, known as TRACER, posts candidate filings that often include home addresses and personal phone numbers. Elsewhere in the system, it lists campaign contribution data that requires donors — including lawmakers — to list their names, full addresses and occupations," said the report. "The database went offline Saturday afternoon. It is expected to return after interested lawmakers file a request for the redaction of personal information, which is currently permitted in law."
"In light of the weekend's tragic events in Minnesota and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of Colorado's elected leaders, the Department of State made a determination to take the public-facing campaign finance reporting website (TRACER) down briefly," said spokesperson Jack Todd in a statement to Axios.
All of this comes as members of Congress, who have also faced attempts on their lives, including the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) during a congressional baseball game in 2017, push for added security for their own offices in response to the Minnesota attack.
