A man from New Hampshire was caught and charged with making threats to kill a US senator who was not named.
The US attorney’s office for the District of New Hampshire said on Friday that Brian Landry, 66, was charged with threatening to hurt, kidnap, or kill the senator “in connection with the official’s performance of official duties.”
The charges could lead to up to 10 years in jail, up to 3 years of probation, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The official statement says that Landry called the senator’s district field office on May 17 and left a message that said, “Hey, stupid. I’m an expert sniper. And if you don’t change, I’ve got my scope pointed at you and I’m coming for you. You’re as good as dead, you piece of fucking shit.”
Investigators were able to link the phone call to a number that Landry used. He said he did call the office, but he couldn’t remember what he said.
NBC looked at court papers and found that during an interview at Landry’s home on May 24, he “told [investigators] that he is very upset with how some politicians have handled important programs for veterans.”
The tweet below verifies the news:
New Hampshire man arrested and charged with death threat to US senator https://t.co/6lochhY1fp
— The Guardian (@guardian) June 3, 2023
NBC said that Landry also said he was upset after hearing that a lawmaker was “blocking military promotions.”
Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican senator, is stopping the raises of about 200 civilian and military leaders at the Pentagon.
Tuberville is against a Pentagon program that gives service members three weeks of administrative leave and pays for them to travel to get abortions.
Lloyd Austin, who is the US defense secretary, attacked Tuberville in March for blocking the nominations, which he said were “absolutely essential.”
Austin said, “There are a lot of things going on in the world that show we could be in a competition any day.” “If we don’t approve the recommendations for promotions, it causes a chain reaction that makes us much less ready than we need to be.”
Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, also criticized Tuberville. He said that delaying nominations, including those for chiefs of US naval forces in the Pacific and Middle East, was “reckless” and couldn’t have happened at a “worse time.”
The charges against Landry show that lawmakers are getting more worried about a rise in political violence.
A poll done last summer found that one in five American adults, or about 50 million people, thinks that political violence is sometimes necessary.
Last July, the House sergeant at arms said that each member of Congress would get $10,000 to make their homes safer.
In October, in San Francisco, a guy with a hammer hit the husband of Nancy Pelosi, who used to be the speaker of the House.
If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I suggest checking out the following links:
- Crack Cocaine Found in Chicago Police Officer’s Squad Car During Bar Incident
- 17-year-old Charged With Shooting Death of 18-year-old Grant High School Senior
In November, Joe Biden asked Americans to “preserve democracy” by speaking out against political violence.
