City responds to threats made against EOC member

A local member of Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center recently received threats on social media, according to city officials. The COVID-19 pandemic, and governments' response to it, has been a contentious issue across the nation and at home. The EOC is a collection of city officials who are tasked with gathering information on the pandemic, keeping in touch with state officials, and helping the community organize its response.

Nothing has come of these threats, according to officials, but the city has still responded.

"No one should need to worry about intimidation and fear when doing their job," Mayor Steve Prysunka wrote in an Oct. 29 press release. "Differences of opinion are understandable, and even welcomed in our community, but we all need to be careful about the way that we express our opinions. It is not acceptable to attack an individual as you make the case for your support or opposition of any issue."

The threats were made last Thursday, Oct. 29, according to Police Chief Tom Radke. He said that they conducted an investigation into the situation. All the parties involved were contacted and interviewed, he said, and they closed the investigation without filing any charges.

"It did not meet the threshold for charges," Radke said.

Neither the threatened EOC individual, nor the person who made the threats on social media, were identified. Radke declined to identify the parties involved.

Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen also declined to provide names of those involved. She said that the threats made suggested that the only way the EOC member could be "stopped" was through violence, and warned them against contacting the police. There was also a lot of additional vulgar language, she added. She said that the police do not believe there is any actual danger to the EOC member at this time.

"The police department believes the issue to be resolved, and continues to monitor the situation," Von Bargen said.

The city is planning a special assembly meeting Thursday evening, Nov. 6, to discuss the pros and cons of enacting a mask mandate in Wrangell. Von Bargen said that everyone is free to share their opinions and thoughts on the matter, within proper decorum.