An Alaska suspect was arrested this week after he allegedly threatened to “hunt” down and kill a U.S. Senator, officials said.
Arther Graham, 46, of Kenai, was arrested Monday after he allegedly sent a graphic message to a U.S. Senator, who was not identified, on Sept. 28, threatening to kill them and wear their skin “as clothes,” U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska said.
In the threatening message, Graham explained he was facing eviction and had nowhere else to go. He also reportedly said he was formerly homeless. Graham identified himself in the threat, signed it with his name, phone number and address, court documents show.
“I’m in the dark here. Until I get new information [United States Senator 1], my plan is ima’ hunt you down, cut the flesh off your body and wear your skin like clothes. I’ll live inside of YOU. I may as well because I ain’t got nowhere else to live,” Graham said, according to court documents.
Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters building in Washington D.C., United States on July 3, 2023. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
According to the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Alaska, the Senator’s staff received the message, which was sent via the Senator’s website, and reported the threat to the U.S. Capitol Police, who launched an investigation.
Special agents from the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI then visited Graham’s home on Oct. 30. Once there, Graham reportedly confessed to having sent the message and told the officers that he knew doing so was against the law, documents show.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, speaks during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Special Diabetes Program on July 11, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF)
The law enforcement did not identify the U.S. Senator, but the complaint uses the word “she.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski is the only female Alaska Senator, however the complaint does not specify if the threatened Senator was from Alaska or another state.
Graham was then taken into custody.
He was charged with using interstate communications with a threat to kidnap and injure. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, speaks during a news conference on June 16, 2023, at the East Vegas Library. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The U.S. Capitol Police is investigating the case, with assistance from the FBI Anchorage Field Office, Kenai Police Department and Alaska State Troopers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Vandergaw for the District of Alaska is prosecuting the case.
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Graham is scheduled to make an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge on Nov. 3.
The incident comes two days after authorities arrested a different man for threatening to kill Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.
Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.
