New Hampshire man arrested for threatening to kill Vivek Ramaswamy

A 30-year-old man was arrested in New Hampshire for sending threatening messages to Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy ahead of a scheduled campaign event.

The perpetrator, who was arrested on Saturday (Dec 9), was identified as Tyler Anderson. He was charged with sending a threat using interstate commerce.

He was produced before the court on Monday (Dec 11) where he remained silent other than telling the judge he understood the proceedings. A detention hearing was scheduled for Thursday.

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Ramaswamy expresses gratitude for swift action

A spokesperson for Ramaswamy said that the texts were directed at his campaign, in which Tyler had threatened to assassinate the Republican leader ahead of his event.

“We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter and pray for the safety of all Americans,” Stefan Mychajliw, deputy communications director, said in a statement.

Ramaswamy also expressed his gratitude to law enforcement agencies for their swift action.

“I'm grateful for the team that's around us and they've been doing a great job in making sure that I'm kept safe," he said.

According to court documents, the man received a text message from the candidate’s campaign on Friday notifying him of Monday’s breakfast event in Portsmouth.

In response, the campaign staff received two text messages, one threatening to shoot Ramaswamy in the head, and the other threatening to kill everyone at the event and desecrate their corpses.

The FBI said they zeroed in on the manby tracing his cellphone number, following which the agents landed at the man’s home on Saturday and arrested him.

Accused can be sent to prison for up to 5 years

The texts were found in a deleted folder, the FBI affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, the man, during the interrogation, told the FBI that he had sent similar texts to “multiple other campaigns”.

The document also includes a screenshot of texts threatening a mass shooting in response to an invitation to see a candidate “who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.”

Republican Chris Christie calls his events “Tell it Like It Is Town Halls”, reports the Washington Post.

Andersonfaces up to five years of prison sentence, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

(With inputs from agencies)