A New Hampshire man has been arrested after sending text messages threatening to kill an unspecified presidential candidate and their supporters at a scheduled campaign stop, the Department of Justice confirmed on Monday. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not disclose the identity of the reported target, but the campaign staff of Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy later reported that the threats had been sent to them.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday morning, 30-year-old Tyler Anderson of Dover, New Hampshire was arrested on Saturday and charged with “transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another.” The suspect’s cell phone and several firearms were seized at the time of the arrest.
On Dec. 8th, Anderson allegedly received a campaign text message announcing an event in Portsmouth on Dec. 11th, to which he responded “Great, another opportunity for me to blow his brains out!” and “I’m going to kill everyone who attends and then f*** their corpses.”
Ramaswamy was the only presidential candidate with an event scheduled in Portsmouth, leading them to conclude that the upcoming “Breakfast with Vivek” at the Roundtable Diner was the likely target.
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Anderson appeared in federal court for an initial hearing shortly after his arrest on Monday. According to the DOJ, “the charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.”
Additional court documents allege that he also sent threatening messages to another candidate around the same time, promising to “blow that bastard’s head off” and hoping that event organizers “have the stamina for a mass shooting.” This candidate was also not identified.
“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 New Hampshire Journal.
Ahead of the New Hampshire primaries on Jan. 23th, Ramaswamy had scheduled multiple stops in Portsmouth, Nashua, and Manchester on Monday. Speaking with reporters during the event in Nashua, the biotech entrepreneur thanked local law enforcement and also praised the FBI agents who assisted in the investigation.
“We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter and pray for the safety of all Americans.” @VivekGRamaswamy in Nashua, New Hampshire. pic.twitter.com/gBqOzDl5YE
— Stefan Mychajliw (@StefanMychajliw) December 11, 2023
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