SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 17, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans has been the target of threatening phone calls and racial epithets since his appearance last week on a CNN interview show.
Evans said his office has received multiple threats, but most callers didn’t leave messages. One who did left a message referencing Evans, who is African-American, which said, “You might want to tell that lying n***** James Evans that he’s lucky he’s not being lynched right now.”
The phone number reportedly traced back to a Texas dog-walking business. The man who answered that phone reportedly said he had no knowledge of the call, and wished he could be more helpful.
Evans notified police about the voicemail and additional threatening calls. On Monday, Evans moved his staff from the Utah Republican Party Headquarters, in downtown Salt Lake City, to other locations, which he did not disclose.
Evans sent out the following notice to GOP members:
“Due to ongoing security concerns and a recent racially charged death threat against me from what appears to be a Clinton supporter, the UTGOP staff will work out of other locations, and hours of operation at HQ will be fluid in the near term. Because we don’t have a budget item for security and our current resources are dedicated for our targeted races, this is the most prudent course of action. I will update you as circumstances change.”
Evans, a vocal supporter of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, on Friday appeared on CNN in an interview with Carol Costello. Asked to comment on recent allegations of sexual abuse against Trump, Evans instead challenged Costello to interview Danney Williams, who claims to be the biological son of Bill Clinton and a former prostitute.
Costello rejected the idea.
“Come on, please, that’s just rubbish,” she said. “He does not have an illegitimate son. You have no proof of that.”
When Evans responded that the media is holding Trump to a different standard than that applied to the husband of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, Costello terminated the interview.
See an excerpt from the interview by clicking on the player below.
