A Virginia man is charged with online threats against Vice President Kamala Harris

A Virginia man has been arrested and charged with making online threats to kill Vice President Kamala Harris and injure other government officials.

Frank L. Carillo, 66, of Winchester, made his initial appearance in federal court Monday and is being held pending a pretrial hearing scheduled for Thursday, according to court records and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, which is prosecuting the case.

According to an FBI statement, agents in Phoenix launched an investigation after online threats were made against a Maricopa County official on the social media website GETTR.

Agents discovered that an account operating under the name “joemadarats1” had made numerous threats against politicians, including Harris and President Joe Biden.

In late July, after Biden dropped his reelection bid and Harris emerged as the Democratic nominee, the account made numerous threats against the vice president. In one, the author wrote, “Harris is going to regret ever running for president because if he ever does, I will personally gouge her eyes out with pliers, but first I will shoot anyone who gets in my way.”

The FBI traced the account to Carillo’s Winchester home. The FBI searched his home on Friday, and Carillo told agents that if the search was “about the online stuff, I posted it,” according to the affidavit. He later said in disbelief, “This is all a comment, right?”

Officers seized a military-style rifle and a handgun from the home.

“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue, and we can debate. But when those disagreements cross the line into threats of violence, law enforcement must intervene,” U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia said in a statement Monday.

A public defender appointed to represent Carillo did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday evening.