Man Threatens to 'Kill Everyone' at 2024 Campaign Event

A New Hampshire man was arrested by federal agents on Saturday after purportedly threatening to "kill everyone" at a campaign event hosted by Republican 2024 presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.

U.S. Attorney Jane Young said in a press release that 30-year-old Tyler Anderson, of Dover, New Hampshire, has been charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another. According to court documents reviewed by Newsweek, Anderson sent two threatening messages to an unnamed candidate's campaign team after receiving a text message reminder about a political event being hosted in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Monday.

"Great, another opportunity for me to blow [the Candidate's] brains out!" Anderson sent in response to the text reminder.

"I'm going to kill everyone who attends and then f*** their corpses," read the second message, according to court records.

The arrest documents did not identify Ramaswamy as the candidate who had received the threats, however, a spokesperson with the candidate's campaign told NBC Boston that Ramaswamy's event scheduled for Monday morning at the Roundabout Diner in Portsmouth was the one that was targeted by Anderson.

"We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter and pray for the safety of all Americans," Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Ramaswamy's campaign, told Newsweek via email on Monday afternoon.

Agents with the FBI field office in Boston were able to identify Anderson using his phone number, which a member of Ramaswamy's staff provided to law enforcement, read the court documents. Officers also worked with Anderson's cell service provider, Verizon Wireless, to determine the location from where the threatening messages were sent.

On Saturday, investigators obtained a search warrant for Anderson's last-known place of residence in Dover. Officers seized the suspect's phone as well firearms located at the premises, however court records did not specify the number of firearms that were located at the residence.

During a preliminary search of Anderson's cell phone, law enforcement officials found a text message in a deleted folder that matched the threatening messages sent to Ramaswamy's campaign. According to photos of the text messages included in the arrest records, Anderson also threatened another political figure on December 6 after receiving a text reminder about the unknown candidate's upcoming event.

"Fantastic, now I know where to go so I can blow that bastard's head off!" read one of the message Anderson allegedly sent to the unnamed candidate.

"Thanks, I'll see you there. Hope you have the stamina for a mass shooting!" read another.

Court records show that Anderson admitted to sending the threatening messages during a police interview after he was taken to the Dover Police Department. He also admitted to sending similar threats to multiple other campaigns.

If convicted, Anderson could face a prison sentence for up to five years, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Instances of political violence have risen in recent years, and according to a poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute (PPRI) released in October, support for threats against political figures has increased just in the past two years.

Roughly a quarter of respondents surveyed in PPRI's annual American Values Survey said that they agreed with the statement: "Because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country." That is a spike from the 15 percent of respondents who supported acts of political violence in 2021, and it is the first time that support for such violence has risen above 20 percent, according to PPRI.

Update 12/11/23, 1:02 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.