New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said Tuesday she is preparing to file a police report tied to threats and harassment she faced on social media that were “egged on” by a state representative who has made unverified claims of voter fraud in state elections.
Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, made the accusations during a hearing of the state House and Senate’s Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, and called out Rep. John Block, a Republican from Alamogordo. Block quickly apologized during the public hearing for any “vile stuff” that might have happened to Toulouse Oliver, although he did not say was involved with it.
After the committee meeting, Toulouse Oliver told reporters she will file a report with state police or the state Department of Justice alleging violations of a 2023 state law making intimidation of election officials during their official duties a felony.
The harassment was against her personal and political X account, which she said she has since set to private because the badgering was “overwhelming and not productive.”
She said the harassment began after she started making posts trying to “nip some emerging conspiracy theories in the bud” coming from liberals. She said she posted online that it was clear Donald Trump had won the presidential election.
On Friday, three days after Election Day, Toulouse Oliver wrote: “I’m going to be straight with you all. Former president Trump was elected outright. Period.”
“Just as I did not and do not tolerate conspiracy theories and arguments about 2016 and 2020, I don’t now,” she wrote.
Later that day, Block responded directly to Toulouse Oliver’s post: “Yes, he did win outright, just as he won outright in 2020 and 2016. How does this happen???? FRAUD. That’s how. But regardless, President Trump didn’t have it stolen from this year despite all the fraud (because we swamped the polls), but we’re still watching how certain individuals attempt to steal legislative seats in the usual suspect counties. We are watching.”
When asked if she was threatened, Toulouse Oliver said: “What they’re saying, they’re going to come here, they’re going to get me convicted for treason.”
“They have me in the crosshairs. They’re going to make sure I go to jail for the rest of my life,” she said. “These are not insignificant things to try to threaten a public official with.”
The next day, Toulouse Oliver posted another thread explaining her decision to set her account to private and “taking a break here on X for the foreseeable future.”
“Although I have respect for constituents and voters that feel differently than me, unfortunately, I think sharing my personal thoughts on this platform has become unproductive and my personal safety in this post-election environment must be a priority for me and my family,” she wrote.
Outside the hearing Tuesday, Toulouse Oliver told reporters Block was “egging that on and being part of that dialogue.”
“I wouldn’t say that he was like, the ring leader, but he was certainly getting in on the pile-on and, I think, helping to foment the anger and some of the nasty comments,” she said.
During the committee hearing, Block said he “wanted to address comments about harassment online.”
“Myself, I’ve been the victim of harassment online as well, sex threats, things like that. Very vile stuff. And that has no place in this body or anywhere so on behalf of whoever did those. I apologize that could have happened to you,” Block said.
“When it comes to asking people about their political position, I feel like that is something OK, you know, not in a harassing way. But if it gets to violent threats like you have described that you got, I apologize that that has happened to you. I think that’s something hopefully we, as a body, hopefully can address in the future,” Block said. “Thank you for bringing that forward, and hopefully we can move on from there.”
Toulouse Oliver immediately responded: “Thank you for your apology, I appreciate that.”
Block has questioned the legitimacy of New Mexico elections in Otero County, where he lives, including in the 2022 primary where Republicans picked him as their candidate. He won that office and was just reelected last week. States United Democracy Center, a nonpartisan group promoting free, fair and secure elections, in March labeled Block an election denier.
Tuesday wasn’t the first time Toulouse Oliver has spoken publicly about harassment linked to elections. She testified in 2022 before Congress that she had seen an increase in threats against election officials since the 2020 presidential election, after Trump had been promoting conspiracy theories, without proof, that he had won.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has seen a sharp increase in racial slurs and other harassment since billionaire Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022.
