A Virginia man has been charged with making numerous death threats against Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Frank Carillo, of Winchester, Virginia, posted a series of violent threats about Harris last month using an alias on the conservative social media site GETTR, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in the Western District of Virginia on Friday. Investigators alleged that Carillo had posted 19 times about Harris, including threats to shoot, stab and burn her alive.
Carillo made his first appearance in federal court Monday. He is being temporarily detained pending a court hearing scheduled for Thursday.
In one of his July 27 social media posts, after Harris launched her presidential campaign and two weeks after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Carillo said that if she’s elected, “I will shoot and kill everyone” who tried to obstruct his efforts, the criminal complaint said. Investigators said a search of Carillo’s home turned up two guns — a handgun that he purchased last year and an RF-15 rifle that he bought this year.
Carillo also made statements about other federal officials, including President Joe Biden and FBI Director Christopher Wray, the complaint alleged. Investigators said that following his arrest, Carillo allegedly told officers, “This is all over a comment, huh?”
A public defender listed for Carillo did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
Daniel Barnes contributed.
