A man from Virginia has been taken into custody and charged with making threatening remarks online about harming Vice President Kamala Harris and other public figures. Frank L. Carillo, aged 66 and residing in Winchester, appeared in federal court on Monday and is currently awaiting a detention hearing set for Thursday, as stated by court documents and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia handling the prosecution.
The issue came to light when FBI agents in Phoenix launched an investigation into online threats directed at a Maricopa County official on the social media platform GETTR. They discovered that an account using the name “joemadarats1” had posted multiple threats targeting various politicians, including Vice President Harris and President Joe Biden.
In late July, following Biden’s decision not to seek reelection and with Harris becoming the probable Democratic nominee, the account intensified its threats against the vice president. One of the statements made by the account holder included a violent threat towards Harris. The FBI managed to track the account back to Carillo’s residence in Winchester, leading to a search of his home where officers found a military-style rifle and a handgun.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia emphasized the significance of maintaining respectful political discussions while ensuring that threats of violence are not tolerated. He mentioned in a press release on Monday, “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.”
As for Carillo, a public defender assigned to his case has not responded to requests for comment as of Monday evening.
