A Missouri lawmaker has withdrawn a proposed public health ordinance after receiving an “extraordinary amount of threatened violence,” Kansas City NPR station KCUR reported. Jackson County legislator Crystal Williams’ bill would have allowed the local health department to mitigate the spread of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, by restoring the director’s authority to require immunizations, close schools, and penalize violators with fines. But when Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, began bashing Williams’ plan on Twitter with phrases like “incredibly dangerous” and “unprecedented overreach,” so began the threats on Williams’ life. In an email to KCUR, Williams said, “Those people should feel ashamed of themselves.”
