A Prosecutor Pick, His Influencer Wife, and Ex-Marshals’ Worries

Brooke Raybould would like to sell you her life.

The social media influencer, who previously went as the Southernish Mama, has 1.2 million followers on Instagram. She posts daily about her life—a recent move to Texas, taking care of five sons (and homeschooling those old enough for it), and her and her husband’s workout routines.

But there’s a twist. Her husband, Ryan Raybould, is up to be US attorney for the Northern District of Texas. It’s a district where the US marshals are used to dealing with threats, as some of its judges have faced them.

Ryan Raybould has the right resume for the job: He’s a former federal prosecutor who served as Sen. John Cornyn’s (R) chief counsel before starting his current job as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.

But his wife’s gig, if he’s confirmed by the Senate, could throw in some complications.

For one thing, Brooke posts regularly about where she and their children are. She’s done interior home tours, describing changes they’ve made since they moved in. She’s even shared overhead depictions of their property (on her story that expires every 24 hours, so it’s no longer on her page) in describing changes they want to make to the backyard.

Ryan Raybould is often featured on her page—playing with the kids, shepherding the family through a coffee run, smiling next to Brooke as she kicks off a video about a morning routine.

I couldn’t find an instance of an influencer—at least one with a following as big as Brooke’s—being tied to a nominee within the US justice system. A couple former US Marshals Service officials I called also couldn’t recall this issue coming up before.

“It certainly puts her husband, her, and her family at risk to some degree,” Jon Trainum, former chief of protective operations within the US Marshals Service’s judicial security division, said of some of the content Brooke has posted.

Carl Caulk, a former assistant director for the US Marshals Service, said his former agency and other entities will likely talk with the family about security concerns. “From a protection standpoint, it would be very concerning to me if I were responsible for their protection,” he said.

US attorney is a public-facing job, and if confirmed, Ryan Raybould would be the public persona of the office. Caulk and Trainum agreed that most threats against prosecutors are against those handling a case, but the US attorney can still be a target.

They said the marshals will have to dedicate resources for the Raybould family even if he’s not the target of threats. And Trainum said it could require more resources than normal, given how much information about them is already public.

Brooke Raybould has made her family her business, and there’s no denying she’s successful. She’s posted big deals with major brands like Target, and has teamed up with other influencers including a star of the hit reality show “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” for a major giveaway.

Given Brooke is already a public figure, she may be used to getting critical feedback, but it’ll be different when her husband starts as US attorney, Trainum said. “The reality of the dangers associated with her behavior and her platform and what she’s doing will not become a reality until it knocks on her front door,” Trainum said.

There’s a group of dedicated “snarkers” who post about Brooke on a subreddit, or a dedicated Reddit page. A few weeks ago, someone posted there that they were able to use information Brooke shared publicly to find the livestream for her eldest son’s hockey tournament, and watch Brooke watch the game. That person posted multiple screenshot images of Brooke holding her baby in the stands.

“I’m not snarking on you here, because as you said she posted all of the information, but this is creepy. I really wish she would be much more thoughtful about how much she posts,” one user wrote in response.

Caulk said there are some direct steps Brooke can take to minimize risk to herself or her family without having to give up her social media gig, with some admittedly easier to do than others.

He said he always recommends not posting in the moment—share only after you’ve gone to an event or on a trip, not while you’re on it. Family should be kept out of posts (a little difficult for Brooke, as she centers her profile on her family.) He also suggested not posting photos or videos of residences or cars; both of those have been posted to her page.

It’s not like Brooke hasn’t taken some precautions. She typically doesn’t share the names of hotels they’re staying at until after they leave. She blurs out the address number when she posts the front of their home.

I’m not saying Brooke should have to give up her job, or posting on social media altogether. But as Caulk put it to me, “you want to make it as hard as possible for people to get personally identifiable information off the internet.”

Brooke and Ryan Raybould didn’t respond to a request for comment. But hours after I sent it, Brooke blocked me on Instagram. That’s her right. I’ll leave the scrolling to the 1.2 million others following her.