The Department of Justice said on Thursday that a man was indicted for purportedly making death threats against three candidates for US president, all of whom are Republicans.
In a news statement, the Department of Justice stated that Tyler Anderson, a 30-year-old resident of New Hampshire, purportedly sent menacing text messages to three potential Republican candidates for the 2024 election in November and December.
The Dover resident was apprehended on December 11th for purportedly transmitting death threats by text message to businessman Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign, with one explicitly vowing to “blow his brains out.”
“We have seen an increase in threats of violence against public officials and those seeking public office across the country, and I have made clear that these types of illegal threats undermine the function of our democracy,” stated U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a prepared document.
“We will not tolerate illegal threats of violence directed at public officials or those seeking public office,” stated Garland.
In a statement sent to NBC News, Tricia McLaughlin, the spokesperson for Ramaswamy’s campaign, expressed gratitude to law police for their intervention.
“We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter and pray for the safety of all Americans,” stated McLaughlin.
The campaign of Chris Christie has verified to NBC News that he was among the presidential contenders who were specifically aimed at. The campaign expressed gratitude to law enforcement for intervening in the matter.
The DOJ stated that Anderson initiated the initial batch of text messages on November 22nd, whereby he made threats to “impale” and “disembowel” one of the candidates.
New Hampshire Man Indicted for Threatening to Kill Three Presidential Candidateshttps://t.co/LOsbNIRpCp pic.twitter.com/zraj7X5b0S
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) December 21, 2023
On December 6th, he purportedly sent a message to another campaign, making a commitment to carry out a “mass shooting,” along with other menacing statements.
Reportedly, Anderson purportedly conveyed his ultimate intimidations to another contender on December 8th, explicitly stating his intention to “kill everyone” present at an approaching campaign gathering.
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The DOJ announced that he has been formally charged with three counts of “transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another.” Each accusation carries a maximum penalty of five years in a federal prison.
The penalty for Anderson will be determined by a federal district court.
Regarding threats to candidates, news media has brought up the possibility that former President Trump will be in danger if any of his court cases see him having to report to prison.
Newsweek reported on Robert Rogers, a former employee of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, currently holds the position of associate professor of criminal justice at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.
According to the prison system specialist, Rogers stated in an interview with Newsweek that incarcerated individuals may attempt to assassinate Donald Trump in order to “make a name for themselves.”
The notion that a previous U.S. president might find himself surrounded by criminals, if convicted, is truly astonishing. Newsweek acknowledged that “any such move would leave authorities with a number of dilemmas as they seek to keep him safe while preserving his mental health and ensuring justice is done. As an ex-president, Trump is entitled to Secret Service protection for the rest of his life.”
Newsweek reports:
Rogers told Newsweek that, if sent to jail, Trump would most likely be dispatched to “a maximum-security penitentiary so that none of his fanatical followers could possibly break him out.”
Referencing the business tycoon, Rogers added: “I would anticipate that he would not have any contact with inmates in the general population.
“If he had any contact at all with other prisoners, it would probably be in a separate, secured unit with other ‘dirty’ cops, prosecutors and judges,” he said. “In other words, he would be in a special unit with others whom the run-of-the-mill inmates would like to harm for putting them there in prison in the first place.”
Rodgers added that the danger to Trump would come if he is allowed to mix with the general prison population: “He would undoubtedly have a number of adoring fans. However, there would also be inmates who would try to kill him, in spite of Secret Service protection, just to make a name for themselves so that they would go down in history, not as common criminals and losers, but as someone who had killed an American president.
Attorney Tray Gober, a managing partner at Texas-based law firm Lee, Gober & Reyna, told Newsweek that authorities would have to balance keeping Trump safe with ensuring isolation doesn’t collapse his mental health
Gober said: “While considerations like isolation, heightened surveillance, and strategic placement address security concerns, it’s equally important to preserve an inmate’s mental health. Placing a high-profile inmate in solitary confinement may solve the problem of how to protect that person from attack, but it can destroy their mental health.
“Therefore, for any high-profile inmate with special security needs, it’s paramount for prison authorities to incorporate monitored outside recreational time, as well as secure shower and dining facilities, to strike the delicate balance between ensuring safety and upholding the principles of justice,” Gober added.