An Indiana man was arrested on Thursday on charges that he threatened the life of Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Justice Department said Friday.
In emails to Boehner’s office and voicemails on his wife’s cellphone, Brandan James Thompson, 32, of New Castle, Ind., allegedly threatened to shoot the speaker because the House failed to extend emergency unemployment benefits.
{mosads}Thompson was arrested by the FBI at his home on Thursday and appeared in federal court on Friday morning. He stopped receiving unemployment checks in January after the program lapsed in December, and in late March he allegedly posted a message on Boehner’s website threatening to kill him with a sniper rifle.
“Well you drunk John bin Laden it’s time to take you out mother****er you want to play with 2.7 million peoples lives I am going to take yours you will never see it coming with my sniper rifle 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 :),” Thompson wrote, according to an FBI affidavit.
A month later, Boehner’s wife, Debbie, told the Capitol Police that she received a threatening message on her personal cellphone, which the FBI traced to Thompson.
“I’m coming after your oompa loompa f**king husband,” the message said. “He shoulda … he shoulda extended unemployment insurance. Now, it’s too late. Imma rip his f**ing head off.”
Thompson allegedly left Debbie Boehner another voicemail on May 6.
“You tell your husband to redo the unemployment extension because I’m going to come for him,” the message said. “I’m going to rip his f**king head off. He’s not untouchable, I will get my hands on him.”
Thompson had a concealed carry permit but no criminal history, the FBI affidavit said. He has a protective order issued against him in April and had four previous protective orders since 2001.
According to the affidavit, Thompson admitted when the FBI showed up at his house on Thursday that he had made the threats against the Speaker.
The Senate passed an extension of emergency unemployment benefits last month, but the House has not taken it up.
Boehner’s office declined to comment on the arrest.
In a statement, Joseph Hogsett, U.S. attorney for the southern district of Indiana, said, “Free speech is the cornerstone of our democracy but threats of violence have no place in our civil society. People who are inclined to make them need to know that they violate the law and they will be aggressively pursued.”