A Maryland man has been arrested after authorities said he threatened to torture and kill Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
According to the federal affidavit released on Wednesday, James Dale Reed left a graphic and threatening letter at a Frederick, Maryland, home of someone with Biden campaign signs in their yard.
Investigators said Reed, 42, was captured on a Ring door camera in the early morning hours of Oct. 4, allowing them to track him down and arrest him. Part of the letter read, “when we capture Grandpa Biden we will all severely beat him to the point of death” and threatened to sodomize Harris with a gun. The writer then said that “for the grand end both will be executed on national television.”
Reed also allegedly threatened homeowners who support the Democratic ticket.
“This is a warning to anyone reading this letter if you are a Biden/Harris supporter you will be targeted. We have a list of homes and addresses by your election signs. We are the ones with those scary guns, we are the ones your children have nightmares about,” the letter read.
In the affidavit, a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service said Reed initially denied writing the letter and appearing in the Ring door camera footage during an Oct. 13 interview. Two days later, Reed reportedly admitted to drafting the missive and was arrested.
Robert Hur, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, said the Justice Department takes such threats “extremely seriously” and that they “have no place in our democracy.”
“The right to vote and peacefully support the candidate of your choice are bedrocks of our democracy,” Hur said in a statement. “Conduct like this that threatens major candidates and fellow citizens only undermines our democracy and the principles upon which America was founded. We will not tolerate threatening conduct that seeks to intimidate, harass or dissuade Americans from exercising their right to vote.”
Reed was charged with making threats against a major candidate for president or vice president and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
