Bismarck city attorney harassed, threatened over COVID-19 response

BISMARCK — Bismarck City Attorney Jannelle Combs said she has been targeted with social media harassment and a public campaign to get her fired for her role in the enforcement of local COVID-19 precautions.

In emails and social media posts dating back to at least late October, Combs said some Bismarck locals have lobbied for her to be fired for fulfilling her responsibilities as city attorney. An escalation of this harassment, including some threats of physical harm, over the last few days prompted Combs to file a police report on Saturday, Dec. 5.

“The thing is with bullies that if you don’t stand up to them, if someone doesn’t, they’re just going to keep doing it, and that’s not right for city employees,” Combs said on Monday. Combs is the second Bismarck-area official to be targeted with harassment over enforcement of COVID-19 precautions, after Renae Moch, director of Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, reported similar responses to her work in September.

"They're just going from one target to the next," Combs said.

Criticism of Combs generated momentum over the weekend in a private Facebook group called North Dakota Freedom Defenders, which includes more than 5,000 members. One now-deleted post invited members to “pack the room, hallway, and overflow” a City Commission meeting this Tuesday to air their grievances against Combs. “Anyone who is sick of the control and manipulation of Ms. Combs NEEDS to attend this meeting!” wrote the post's author. The post received more than 100 likes and prompted a thread of complaints about Combs in the comment section. A moderator of the group did not immediately respond to a Facebook message seeking comment for this story.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/newsmd/coronavirus/6791940-Bismarck-city-attorney-harassed-threatened-over-COVID-19-response