CONCORD, N.H. — A New Hampshire man who was released from prison after being accused of sending text messages threatening to kill a presidential candidate is now facing two new charges of threatening the lives of several candidates.
Tyler Anderson, 30, of Dover, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on three counts of transmitting a threat through interstate commerce. He will be arraigned on January 5.
A message seeking comment was sent to his attorney.
Anderson was arrested on December 9 and released on December 14. A federal judge imposed several conditions on his release, including that he avoid contact with presidential candidates and their political campaigns. Anderson, who is receiving mental health treatment, must also take all his prescribed medications. Weapons in his home that belong to a roommate must be removed.
The U.S. Attorney's Office did not name the candidates. When Anderson was arrested, a spokesperson for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said the lyrics were directed against his campaign. According to court documents, Anderson received a text message from the candidate's campaign informing him of a breakfast event in Portsmouth. In response, campaign staff received two text messages. One threatened to shoot the candidate in the head, the other threatened to kill everyone at the event and desecrate their bodies.
Anderson had told the FBI in an interview that he had sent similar texts to “multiple other campaigns,” according to a court document.
According to the latest complaint, similar texts were sent to two different candidates before the Ramaswamy messages, on November 22 and December 6.
On November 22, a campaign received text messages threatening to “impale” and “disembowel” a candidate. On December 6, text messages were sent to another candidate's campaign with threats to shoot the candidate in the head and carry out a mass shooting.
A court document filed when Anderson was arrested included a screenshot of Dec. 6 texts threatening a mass shooting in response to an invitation to meet with 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.”
A spokesperson for the Christie campaign had thanked law enforcement officials for addressing these threats.
Each charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.