"An Ohio man has been charged with threatening to kill Vice President JD Vance while he was visiting his home state last month. But the man's lawyer said his health makes it unlikely he would have been able to carry out the threat. In addition to the charge for threatening Vance, prosecutors also charged Shannon Mathre with possessing digital files depicting child sexual abuse that were discovered during the investigation. That second charge carries a much stiffer potential penalty of up to 20 years"
"Lawyer Neil McElroy said that Mathre's health challenges would have been apparent to anyone in the courtroom Friday when he pleaded not guilty to the charges, so he doesn't think the threat charge makes sense. McElroy said he couldn't comment on the charge related to the possession of child sexual abuse files because prosecutors haven't yet provided any details about that at this early stage of the case."
"Still, the Justice Department and Secret Service took the threat very seriously after Mathre said I am going to find out where he (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him. The indictment filed in court doesn't offer many details about the threat or the images he allegedly possessed, but the Secret Service said the investigation went beyond the online threat to also examine Mathre's actions and behavior."
Prosecutors charged 33-year-old Shannon Mathre of Toledo with threatening to kill Vice President JD Vance and with possessing digital files depicting child sexual abuse. The threat-related charge carries a maximum five-year sentence, while the child sexual abuse-files charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years. Law enforcement seized Mathre's Samsung phone on Jan. 21 as part of the investigation. The Justice Department and Secret Service said they examined Mathre's actions and behavior beyond the online threat. Mathre pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer said Mathre's physical and mental health challenges make the threat claim unlikely to be credible.
#threats-against-public-officials #child-sexual-abuse-files #federal-charges #secret-service-investigation
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