The FBI arrested a New Hampshire man for allegedly threatening to kill Vivek Ramaswamy when the 2024 presidential candidate was set to hold a campaign event in Portsmouth.
Agents arrested Tyler Anderson, 30, and charged him with transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another. Anderson is scheduled to appear in court on Monday at 2:30 p.m. If found guilty, Anderson faces up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
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Anderson received a text message from the “victim’s campaign” about a political event in Portsmouth, according to the Justice Department. Anderson responded to the text on Dec. 8, stating: “Great, another opportunity for me to blow his brains out!” and “I’m going to kill everyone who attends and then f*** their corpses.”
He admitted to police that he sent the texts and that he had sent threatening texts to other campaigns as well, according to court documents. Anderson has had several interactions with the Dover Police Department over the last few years, according to the court documents, which did not detail specifics.
While not named in the FBI’s notice of Anderson’s arrest, Ramaswamy’s campaign confirmed he was the candidate targeted by Anderson in a statement on Monday. Ramaswamy’s event was set to take place at the Roundabout Diner at 9 a.m. on Monday in Portsmouth, according to his campaign schedule.
“We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter. Our security team worked closely with New Hampshire state police, who are some of the best in the nation,” the campaign said. “We’re going to let the investigators do their work and figure out who this person is and what their motives might be.”
Ramaswamy Communications Director Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News they will step up security at Ramaswamy’s New Hampshire events on Monday, including the presence of plainclothes officers. The entrepreneur’s campaign schedule will continue as planned.
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“I feel very secure in the position we’re in, and I’m immensely grateful to the team that keeps me safe and hopefully all the other candidates safe through this process as well,” Ramaswamy told reporters in Nashua, New Hampshire.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the FBI for data on threats to presidential candidates.
