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Chicago suburban man arrested for allegedly “threatening violence” during next presidential inauguration, accused of voicemail voicing his intention to “kill everything [expletive] Democrat “who walks on the White House lawn, according to a criminal complaint.
Louis Capriotti, 45, of Chicago Heights, has been charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said.
Capriotti was arrested near his home on Tuesday morning and is due in court at 3:30 p.m., officials said.
The criminal complaint, filed in US District Court in Chicago, alleges that in a December 29 voicemail message to a member of the United States House from New Jersey, Capriotti said that while some people “think Joe Biden is going get your hands on the bible and get into it [expletive] White House on January 20, unfortunately they are [expletive] is wrong. ”
“We will surround the [expletive] White House and we’ll kill it all [expletive] Democrat walking on the [expletive] lawn, ”the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Capriotti left several “anonymous and disturbing messages” on the voicemail systems of several members of Congress between October 3, 2019 and January 29, 2020, and then from February to December. Authorities also believe he may have left similar messages by a different number between 2017 and 2019.
The alleged “messages, in almost all cases, included profanity, as well as derogatory remarks regarding race, religion, political affiliation or physical appearance of some members and others,” the complaint states.
Officials said the FBI interviewed Capriotti in February 2020 and admitted making calls and leaving voicemail messages, but said he “didn’t want bad will.” They told him to stop making such calls, but Capriotti continued to leave such voicemail messages in the months that followed, according to the complaint.
In one of the messages left in November, the caller referred to himself as a “nine-year-old Marine on active duty” and said he had “killed” several “terrorists” in previous wars and that he “would continue to kill them because that’s what I’m trained for. The complaint alleges that he also said” in the next few weeks big news is about to happen “and that some people” are going to be amazed at what will be revealed ”.
“Our office takes the safety of our public servants very seriously,” US Attorney John Lausch said in a statement. “People who cross the line of free speech by making illegal threats will be held accountable.”
It was not immediately clear if Capriotti had a lawyer.
The announcement of the arrest comes less than a week after thousands of people raped the U.S. Capitol in a violent and deadly riot. The FBI warned of further unrest ahead of the opening day.
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