A federal grand jury has indicted a 33-year-old Ohio man for allegedly threatening to kill US Vice President JD Vance during the vice president’s visit to the state in January.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement that the suspect, Shannon Mathre of Toledo, Ohio, is charged with “making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” the vice president.
According to court documents, Mathre allegedly declared that he was “going to find out where he is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him.” Authorities did not disclose where or how the threat was made.
Mathre was arrested by US Secret Service agents on Friday following the indictment.
The case marks the latest in a series of security incidents involving Vice President Vance. Earlier in January, Vance revealed that an individual he described as “a crazy person” attempted to break into his Ohio residence by pounding on the windows.
The vice president and his family were not at home at the time, and a 26-year-old suspect was later taken into custody, according to US media reports.
During the investigation into the alleged threat, the Justice Department said law enforcement officials discovered “multiple digital files of child sexual abuse materials” in Mathre’s possession.
Mathre made his initial court appearance on Friday before a US Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Ohio. He remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for February 11, the Justice Department said.
