By The opinion
06 Aug 2024, 01:34 AM EDT
Frank Lucio Carillo of Virginia was charged with making death threats against Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden, FBI Director Christopher Wray and several Arizona officials, appearing in federal court on Monday.
The Winchester-based man was arrested last week and charged with posting thousands of threats on online forums and posts.
“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. “We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate. But when those disagreements cross the line into threats of violence, law enforcement must intervene,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia today.
“Frank Lucio Carillo, 66, appeared in US District Court in Roanoke Monday after he was arrested at his Winchester home last week. “He is charged with one felony count of making threats against the vice president of the United States.” https://t.co/l3fFDzdCyG
— Jeff E. Schapiro (@RTDSchapiro) August 5, 2024
According to court documents, on July 27, 2024, the Maricopa County (Arizona) Recorder’s Office notified the FBI Phoenix Office of potential threats being made on the GETTR social media platform.
In several publications, Carillo allegedly threatened to cut out Harris’s eyes and described several ways he wanted to kill the vice president, according to court records.
“I will take your eyes out,” Carillo allegedly wrote in a speech filled with insults, saying he hoped he “would suffer a slow and agonizing death.”
Court records cite several similar posts, with graphic and detailed threats against the vice president and others, including an Islamophobic post in 2023 in which he wrote that people should “go out with their guns and kill all Muslims.”
The FBI searched for the user account “joemadarats1,” which was linked to the threats, and discovered approximately 4,359 posts and responses made by the user, addressed to various public officials.
In a February 2024 post, ‘joemadarats1’ even said he had his “AR-15 armed and loaded,” according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Authorities used GETTR subscriber information and other investigative methods to identify the username ‘joemadarats1’ to Carillo and pinpoint his physical location in Winchester, Virginia.
On August 2, 2024, FBI authorities in Richmond executed a search warrant at Carillo’s home and They seized a 9mm pistol, an AR-15 rifle and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The FBI in both Richmond, Virginia, and Phoenix, Arizona, and the U.S. Secret Service are investigating the case.
“The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. We take all threats of violence seriously and will investigate them to the fullest extent possible and hold those responsible accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI’s Richmond Division.
For now, a hearing has been set for Thursday to determine whether Carillo will remain behind bars while awaiting a resolution in his case.
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