The wife of the Alabama politician who hurled the n-word at a city council meeting says they've been bombarded by threatening calls ... and they're living in fear of retaliation.
Nancy Mahler Bryant tells TMZ ... ever since her husband, John "Tommy" Bryant, went viral for blurting out the slur, she's been terrified someone is going to try to kill him and is worried about the rest of her family, too.
Nancy says they've received at least 400 calls to their home over the past few days from people all over the country who scream at them, call them racists and make threats.
ICYMI ... Bryant pointed at Veronica Freeman -- a Black councilwoman -- while asking if there's "a house n***er" in the room during a city council meeting.
She tells us Tommy always wears a bulletproof vest when he leaves the house, but he's also given her a pistol to have with her in case she needs to go somewhere ... or if someone tries to break into their home.
Nancy says, for now, she's not leaving the house though, and same goes for her 92-year-old mother who lives with them -- they aren't even letting her go outside to her garden over safety concerns.
She says they are also keeping the blinds closed all day for fear that if someone sees Councilman Bryant inside, they might try to shoot him.
As for Bryant ... he tells us the threats have him a little worried. However, he's steadfast he did nothing wrong in saying the n-word, and would not apologize for "doing what is right."
As we reported ... Tommy claims he was justified in shouting the epithet, because he was simply repeating something Mayor Wayman Newton, who is Black, allegedly said in a previous meeting.