Lawmakers from Saline County were informed of an undisclosed threat against the county's elected officials after adjournment of the Legislature on Thursday.
Speaker of the House Rep. Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, asked that the legislators meet with him directly after adjournment of the session shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday.
About 30 minutes later, Gillam told members of the media that a threat had been made against Saline County officials and it was interpreted to possibly include state lawmakers. He did not know the details of the threat, but said it was directed at all elected officials from Saline County.
"[Officials are] looking into all of it, so we just felt like it was necessary to take an abundance of caution and just wait and see what the authorities and everybody comes back to us on," Gillam said.
Gillam said county officials notified House staff members of the threat. The Senate had already adjourned for the day.
"They're all fine," Gillam said. "We're just making sure that we're as cooperative as we can be for whatever recommendations they make.
"Most of this is just an abundance of caution," he said. "There was nothing directly tied to our members or any individuals here in the Capitol. We just felt like it was proper for us to go ahead and take steps on our end."
Calls to the Capitol police Thursday afternoon were directed to secretary of state spokesman Laura Labay.
"We've been made aware of the threat," she said. "Anytime there is a threat made, we are extra vigilant."
Rep. Julie Mayberry, R-Hensley, said the representatives from Saline County were held in Gillam's office for about 1½ hours before being allowed to leave Thursday afternoon.
"We were pulled back to Jeremy Gillam's office to be briefed on the information that they had," Mayberry said. "It was very sketchy. I think it is still very sketchy. It is a threat that I am taking seriously. It was made to Saline County officials."
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said Thursday afternoon that the state police had "no investigation underway nor do we have any personnel in Saline County investigating this," and referred calls to the Saline County sheriff's office.
Sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Scottie Courtney said he could not comment.
Metro on 02/13/2015