Reports: Rep.-elect West’s former chief-of-staff pick might have inspired shooting threat

By Mike Lillis - 11/11/10 04:51 PM ET

Fiery remarks from Joyce Kaufman, the initial pick to be Rep.-elect Allen West’s (R-Fla.) chief of staff, might have been the inspiration behind a South Florida shooting threat that shuttered area schools Wednesday, according to local reports.

Kaufman, a conservative talk radio personality, told a crowd of West supporters at a campaign event over the summer that “if ballots don't work, bullets will.”

Replayed on newscasts this week, those comments might have inspired a man to threaten violent actions against local government facilities, according to local reports, which cited police sources.

Radio station WFTL 850 AM, on which Kaufman has her own show, received an e-mail late Tuesday with the warning: “I'm planning something big around the government building here in Broward County, maybe a post office, maybe even a school.” It was addressed to Kaufman, the reports indicated.

The message, combined with a phone call to the station Wednesday morning that warned of a possible incident, mobilized police to lock down all Broward County schools for much of Wednesday, stranding thousands of students in their classrooms.

Kaufman, whose incendiary style has raised eyebrows in the past, was tapped to be West’s chief of staff on Tuesday. West announced Thursday that she would no longer be joining him in Washington.

“It is with deep regret that this congressional office and the people of [district] 22 will not have Joyce Kaufman as my chief of staff,” West said in a statement. “Joyce is a good friend, and will remain loyal to South Floridians and to me. I will always seek Joyce's counsel for being a good representative of this congressional district.” 

There was no mention of the shooting threat.