A man in Maryland was charged for threatening to kill a Maryland representative of the US House of Representatives out of fears of voter fraud, federal authorities said.
According to an affidavit filed in court, Sidhartha Kumar Mathur, 34, was charged with one count of threatening the life of a member of Congress. The voicemail left at the representative’s office threatened the official, who has remained unnamed, and their family.
“I just want to say, I’m going to f—ing kill you,” the voicemail said, according to the affidavit. “If you even mess with my vote, I’m going to come and I’ll slit your throat and I’ll kill your family. Okay. You shut, you f——, don’t touch my vote. You represent me. I’ll kill you.”
Following President Donald Trump’s loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the US presidential election in November, Trump and members of the Republican Party have spread baseless accusations of voter fraud and election rigging. The claims have inspired numerous “stop the steal” protests that have resulted in death threats to public officials and sometimes violence.
According to a press release from the DOJ, members of law enforcement seized Mathur’s phone, computer, and other electronic media in a search warrant.
Following his initial appearance in court, Mathur was released under the supervision of US Pretrial Services on the condition that he does not contact the representative again, surrenders his passport, is barred from leaving the District of Maryland, and must undergo medical or psychiatric treatments.
If convicted, Mathur will face up to 10 years in federal prison for making threats against a federal official. A second court date for Mathur has yet to be scheduled.
