Virginia man charged with making death threats against Kamala Harris

Virginia man charged with making death threats against Kamala Harris

By Arun Kumar

The 66-year-old man repeatedly targeted the vice president and other officials on Gettr, a right-wing social media platform

A Virginia man has been charged with making violent online threats against vice president Kamala Harris days after she began her presidential campaign.

Frank Carillo, 66, is charged with one count of making threats against the Democratic presidential nominee, according to the US attorney’s office of the Western District of Virginia. He made his first court appearance Monday after being arrested at his Winchester home.

According to the criminal complaint, Carillo mentioned the vice president 19 times on Gettr, a right-wing social media platform, with several of the posts containing graphic descriptions of violence.

“Kamala Harris needs to be put on fire alive I will do it personally if no one else does,” read one post cited in court documents. Another said Harris is “going to regret ever trying to become president.”

The messages were posted on July 27, six days after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for reelection and endorsed Harris to take his place as the Democratic candidate

Authorities said Carillo also posted violent threats against President Joe Biden, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Phoenix-area elections official Stephen Richer — a Republican who has pushed back on election denialism.

Carillo’s online posts were flagged by Richer’s Maricopa County office on July 27, and FBI agents then discovered more than 4,300 posts or replies on Gettr in which Carillo with user name “joemadarats1” targeted public officials, according to the complaint.

In a February 2024 post, “joemadarats1” said he had his “AR-15 LOCKED AND LOADED.”

Authorities used Gettr subscriber information and other investigative methods to match the “joemadarats1” username with Carillo and to locate his physical location in Winchester, Virginia.

He also allegedly made posts threatening to kill undocumented immigrants and Muslims.

Federal agents seized an AR-15 rifle, a 9 mm handgun and thousands of rounds of ammunition at Carillo’s home last week, the US attorney’s office said.

“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate. However, when those disagreements cross the line to threats of violence, law enforcement must step in,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia stated.