Man charged with threatening to kill Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley found dead

Prosecutors move to dismiss the indictment against Tyler Anderson accused of sending threatening texts to three presidential candidates

A man accused of threatening to kill three Republican presidential candidates — Indian Americans Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, and Chris Christie — was found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict.

Officials have moved to have the case against Tyler Anderson, of Dover, New Hampshire, who had been on trial this week, dismissed, according to media reports. He was charged with three counts of transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another.

Anderson was accused of sending threatening text messages late last year to the campaigns for Republicans Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley and Chris Christie, WUMR News 9 reported citing court documents.

Anderson’s lawyers argued that some of those messages are protected by freedom of speech.

READ: Vivek Ramaswamy among voters’ top picks as Trump’s vice president (March 8, 2024)

“Great, another opportunity for me to blow [Ramaswamy’s] brains out!” Anderson allegedly replied in one text to the Ramaswamy campaign, according to New York Post. “I’m going to kill everyone who attends and then f–k their corpses,” he allegedly wrote in another.

Ramaswamy’s campaign had confirmed that he was one of the targets, according to the Post.

Another message he sent on Nov 22, 2023, featured a threat to “impale” and “disembowel” one candidate. Later on Dec 6, 2023, he wrote, “Now I know where to go so I can blow that bastard’s head off,” and added, “Hope you have the stamina for a mass shooting!”

One of the messages to the other two candidates featured a slogan associated with former New Jersey Gov Chris Christie and described someone “who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.” Christie’s events were dubbed “Tell it Like It Is Town Halls.”

Anderson’s attorney claimed that his client had no intention of following through on those cryptic threats.

Anderson had been getting treatment for mental health and was under instructions to remain current on his prescribed medications, per court records as cited by the Post.

His trial began with jury selection last week. Jurors then began deliberating on Tuesday, before proceedings got cut short.

WUMR News 9 reported that the FBI on Wednesday began a search for Anderson over concerns that he might be armed and had threatened to harm himself. Concord police were notified by the FBI and began searching areas in the city for Anderson.

Later Wednesday, Anderson’s vehicle was found in a parking garage near Concord Hospital. He was found dead in the vehicle. The death is not considered suspicious. The FBI was seen at the parking garage on Wednesday night.

“It’s still under investigation at this time,” Concord police Deputy Chief John Thomas was quoted as saying. “We don’t think there’s any foul play, but at this time, I can’t put too much more out on it because it’s still under investigation.”

The three-day trial began last week, and jurors began deliberating Tuesday. On Wednesday, they told the judge they had reached a unanimous verdict on one count but could not reach a consensus on the others at that time.

Deliberations were canceled for the day Wednesday, with court officials just saying that something had come up. Jurors were set to resume deliberations at noon Thursday, but it was at that time that prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the case because Anderson was dead.

Anderson had faced up to 15 years in prison if he was convicted.