A New Hampshire man has been arrested for threatening to “blow” the “brains out” of a presidential candidate, according to the Justice Department.
The DOJ announced Monday morning that a 30-year-old man had been charged over a text message that threatened a candidate and attendees of a campaign event. The DOJ did not identify which candidate had been threatened, but the campaign of Republican tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy reportedly confirmed that he was the target of the threat.
On December 8, in response to a text message about an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the suspect allegedly replied, “Great, another opportunity for me to blow his brains out!” and “I’m going to kill everyone who attends and then f*** their corpses.”
According to the DOJ, the text message was sent in response to an invitation for a campaign event on December 11. Ramaswamy was the only candidate with a public event listed in Portsmouth that day and his campaign told the New Hampshire Journal that they were the targets of the threat.
“We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter and pray for the safety of all Americans,” campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told the outlet.
Ramaswamy’s campaign had scheduled a “Breakfast with Vivek” event at the Roundabout Dinner in Portsmouth, the NHJournal reported.
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The suspect will appear in federal court in Concord on Monday for an initial hearing. According to the DOJ, he could face up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.
Court documents also allege that he had sent threatening messages to a different candidate last week, saying he wanted to “blow that b******’s head off,” NBC Boston reported.
Another message said, “Thanks, I’ll see you there. Hope you have the stamina for a mass shooting!”
On Monday morning, Ramaswamy announced a series of events throughout New Hampshire, including in the cities of Portsmouth, Nashua, and Manchester.