The FBI arrested a 64-year-old man on Tuesday morning at his home outside Yakima, Wash., for allegedly threatening Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in response to the health care vote, the FBI said.
Authorities charged in a criminal complaint that Charles Alan Wilson of Selah, Wash., made a series of threatening calls to the senator’s office in Washington between March 22 and April 4 office, which included the remarks that Murray “had a target on her back” and “I want to (expletive) kill you.”
“Free speech is the cornerstone of our democratic process, and we are a country of vigorous debate,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg in a statement. “However, threats of violence have no place in that debate. The threats here crossed the line, and violate the law.
Authorities said Wilson allegedly made the calls from a telephone with a blocked number, but subpoenaed phone records show the calls came from his home.
