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He later wrote, “I won’t pull the trigger. All I did was come up with the idea.”

Oates said such threats are “totally normal,” but might be discussed more publicly in the age of social media.

Notley’s security has not changed, Oates said. The premier still attends public events, accompanied by her security team.

Notley said she’s confident in her security team.

“I’m told none of what has occurred thus far with me is in any way, shape or form out of the ordinary,” she said.

“I think it’s part of being premier probably in almost day and age. Politics is politics.”

Stephen Carter, a political strategist who worked for a time as former premier Alison Redford’s chief of staff, said he would like more people in these situations charged with uttering threats.

“This is a far too common occurrence in our society,” Carter said, noting such threats tend to come in fits and starts — sometimes five in a week — depending on what a premier is doing.

“Every one of them has to be approached seriously, and there is nothing more important than to make sure we are taking care of the people who run for office.”

He said every threat needs to be tracked down and investigated.

“It was disgusting,” Carter said. “There’s extremists all over the place. This one comes from the right, but we saw it from all over, it didn’t matter your ideology. This type of rhetoric was viewed to be, to some people, acceptable and they need to understand it comes with a consequence.”

jsinnema@edmontonjournal.com

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