Winchester Man Charged With Threatening Kamala Harris

A Virginia man is being prosecuted in federal court after he allegedly made a series of online posts threatening to kill or harm Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia announced Monday.

Frank Carillo, 66, of Winchester, is facing federal charges for allegedly making thousands of posts and replies in online forums threatening the president, vice president, and other public officials. (Courtesy of Roanoke City Jail)

Frank Carillo, a 66-year-old from Winchester, was arrested last week at his home after authorities said they traced a series of posts on the conservative-leaning social media site Gettr back to him.

Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, was mentioned 19 times in the posts allegedly written by Carillo under the username “joemadarats1.”

“Harris is going to regret ever trying to become president because if that ever happened I will personally pluck out her eyes with a pair of pliers but first I will shoot and kill everyone that gets in my way that is a f****** promise,” read one of thousands of posts from the account that targeted public officials.

Another post said “I HAVE MY AR-15 LOCKED AND LOADED.” Authorities said they seized an AR-15 rifle, a pistol and “thousands of rounds of ammunition” from Carillo’s home during a search carried out Aug. 2.

Carillo told federal authorities he had purchased the rifle in February. He also indicated during the search that he was the one who had made the online comments that had drawn the attention of the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to federal court documents.

Federal law makes it a crime to threaten the president or anyone in the line of succession to the presidency. The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison.

“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate. However, when those disagreements cross the line to threats of violence, law enforcement must step in,” Western District U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said in a news release announcing the case.

Threats of violence against political figures have been a heightened concern this summer following the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, who is now competing against Harris after President Joe Biden abandoned his bid for a second presidential term.

Several of the alarming posts from the Gettr account linked to Carillo were made on July 27, almost one week after Biden dropped out of the race.

Carillo made an initial court appearance Monday and remains in federal custody, court documents show. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday.

Efforts to reach Carillo’s court-appointed attorney were unsuccessful Monday.

by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

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