People get frustrated with Social Security. They get frustrated if they get denied benefits, and they get frustrated how long they have to wait for services. This nothing new, but as wait times continue to increase, instances of threats and disturbances at Social Security offices seem to be on the rise.
In a news report from the Journal-News, a man who was frustrated for “procedures he did not get done” at a Social Security office in Middletown, Ohio allegedly told Social Security employees “you’re all going to die.”
The employees took the threat seriously and called the police. The man was not arrested or charged by police and insisted he was not threatening anyone’s life. In the police report, an officer wrote “he stated that he was referring to that in a spiritual sense, that they are all going to hell when they die. He stated that he did not mean to imply that he was going to come back and cause any harm.”
Another perceived threat occurred at the Leesburg, Florida Social Security office earlier this month. According to this story from the Daily Commercial, the local Social Security office was closed because of a potential anthrax attack after employees received a suspicious package. After an investigation, it was determined that no harmful substances were found in the package, but for a short period of time Social Security employees were evacuated from the building. Apparently this type of threat was not the first in the area, as the Daily Commercial reported that a suspicious package containing white powder was delivered to the newspaper last year, but the county’s hazardous materials team discovered the substance to be baking powder. It seems that increased wait times and frustrations with Social Security are coinciding with increased threats made against the agency.
