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A New Hampshire man has been arrested for allegedly sending text messages threatening to kill Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and attendees at a campaign event planned for Monday. .
Tyler Anderson, 30, of Dover, is charged with interstate trafficking in a threat to injure the person of another, U.S. Attorney Jane Young announced in a press release. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Concord at 2:30 p.m. Monday.
According to court records, Anderson received a text message from the candidate’s campaign informing him of a political event in Portsmouth. He responded to the text message on Friday, saying, “Great, another chance for me to blow (the agent’s) mind!” and “I will kill everyone who joins and (ban) their dead bodies.”
The documents said the text messages were directed at a candidate who was “scheduled to make an announcement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on December 11, 2023” at 8:30 a.m. They said the incident involved eat a “buffet style breakfast.”
Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was the only candidate who had a list of events in Portsmouth on Monday, the 8:30 am Town Hall at the Roundabout Diner. It was also scheduled to stop in Nashua and Manchester later in the day.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Ramaswamy campaign, confirmed Monday that Ramaswamy’s campaign was the target of Anderson’s threats.
“Unfortunately it’s true,” he said in an email. “We thank law enforcement for the speed and professionalism in handling this case and pray for the safety of all Americans.”
Court records show investigators used Verizon Wireless records to confirm the two messages were sent from the phone. Anderson at 10:06 a.m. Friday, about 6 minutes after he received a text message from the candidate’s campaign.
On Saturday, federal agents obtained a warrant to search Anderson’s home on Central Avenue in Dover and seized a Samsung Galaxy S10E phone believed to have sent the text messages, with guns. Court records did not say what type of gun was taken.
During the first phone search, an FBI agent said they found, in a deleted file, text messages reported by the candidate’s staff. They also found additional text messages sent last Wednesday to another candidate, including a similar threat to “blow the woman’s head off”. here!”
“Thanks, I’ll see you there. Hope you have the energy for a big shot!” someone said walking.
During an interview with the FBI, Anderson admitted to sending threatening messages to the candidate and said he had sent similar threatening messages to “several other media outlets.”
Ramaswamy’s agency issued a statement later Monday thanking law enforcement “for their swift and professional handling of this matter.”
The charge that Anderson is facing can result in a prison sentence of not more than 5 years, probation for 3 years, and a fine of not more than $250,000.
The investigation that led to his arrest was led by the FBI, with assistance from the police of Dover and Portsmouth.
No further details were released.