Virginia man charged with threatening to torture and kill Harris, DOJ says

A Virginia man was arrested Monday and charged with making threats against Vice President Harris, the Justice Department announced in a news release.

Frank Carillo, 66, of Winchester, Va., wrote thousands of posts and replies over the past year on the conservative social media platform Gettr, targeting several public officials such as Harris, President Biden and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

Carillo allegedly made numerous violent comments and graphic death threats directed at Harris on Gettr after she had started running for president. Carillo allegedly wrote in July that “Harris is going to regret ever trying to become president” and “Just for being a Democrat you’re going to die.”

Carillo also made numerous posts about firearms and shooting people, including immigrants and Muslims, the complaint alleged, and wrote that he had an “AR-15 locked and loaded.”

His posts were first identified in July by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Arizona, which alerted the FBI to threats made on Gettr against that county’s recorder, the complaint states. The office has faced numerous violent threats after Donald Trump made false claims that his loss in the county during the 2020 election was fraudulent.

Investigators linked phone numbers and email addresses associated with the Gettr account that made the threatening posts to Carillo in Virginia, the complaint alleged. FBI agents searched Carillo’s residence last week and seized a handgun and an assault-style rifle, according to the complaint.

Carillo, who was present during the search, allegedly said, “This is ridiculous, for a comment. I guess I’m gonna need a lawyer.”

If convicted of threatening to kill the vice president, Carillo could face up to five years in prison.

An attorney for Carillo declined to comment. Carillo made an initial court appearance Monday and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday.