CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sen. Thom Tillis received a threatening voicemail message from a TikTok user who threatened to find him and kill him if the social media app is banned in the U.S.
Tillis shared the voicemail on social media on Wednesday, calling TikTok "dangerous." Democrats and Republicans believe TikTok and its ties to China could be a national security threat. The House passed a bill last week that would block TikTok in the U.S. if China-based ByteDance doesn't divest from the app within six months of the bill's enactment. The Senate wants to write its own bill addressing the app. President Joe Biden previously said he will sign any legislation passed by Congress into law.
"OK, listen, if you ban TikTok I will find you and shoot you," a person says on the recording. "That's people's job and that's my only entertainment. And people make money off there, too, you know. I'm trying to get rich like that. Anyways, I'll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces."
Tillis accused TikTok of launching a misinformation campaign pushing people to call members of Congress to stop the legislation from being passed, adding callers who make threats against elected officials could be committing a federal crime. House lawmakers said their offices were inundated with calls from TikTok users demanding they drop the effort to ban the app, but this is the first reported threat. TikTok has urged users to call lawmakers to stop what it calls a "total ban" of the app, reportedly directing users to their own elected senators and representatives, according to Politico.
Tillis' post is getting a lot of comments and it shows how divided people are on the issue. Some posters say the threats are unacceptable and the callers should be prosecuted. Others are less sympathetic, saying the voicemail is similar to words from former President Donald Trump. Others argue the voicemail doesn't fairly represent the app.
Contact Kia Murray at kmurray@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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