Vivek Ramaswamy thanks police after texts threatened to kill him, supporters in New Hampshire
NASHUA - Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made four different campaign stops across New Hampshire Monday, and security was tight around the candidate after text messages that threatened to take his life.
According to a criminal complaint, 30-year-old Tyler Anderson of Dover, New Hampshire was arrested Saturday for sending texts to Ramaswamy's campaign number.
In response to a campaign text about a Portsmouth event on Monday morning, Anderson allegedly wrote, "Great, another opportunity for me to blow...brains out!" and "I'm going to kill everyone who attends and then *** their corpses."
According to the complaint, a staffer with the Ramaswamy campaign alerted police to the threat, which launched an investigation that involved the FBI.
That investigation led police back to Anderson's Dover home, where they say they found guns. They also say Anderson confessed to sending the texts in a police interview.
After his events in Portsmouth and Nashua on Monday, Ramaswamy spoke with WBZ and thanked law enforcement. "I'm grateful for the team around us, and I think they've done a great job and making sure that I'm kept safe," he said, specifically thanking local law enforcement including retired New Hampshire officers who help with his campaign security. "I'm confident that we have a solid security team in place and more importantly, I pray for the safety of every American," he said, noting other candidates in the political process.
The criminal complaint revealed other text messages sent to unnamed political candidates allegedly by Anderson, threatening to commit a mass shooting.
"There is zero tolerance for anyone who commits a federal crime in the state of New Hampshire on my watch," said Jane Young, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire.
Anderson was in federal court in Concord on Monday afternoon, wearing his prison jumpsuit. He will stay in prison until a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday, December 14. If convicted for transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another, Anderson could face up to five years behind bars.
WBZ Security Analyst Ed Davis said the charges should be a wakeup call to potential pranksters as the presidential election ramps up. "To have the federal authorities descend on your house and execute a search warrant, go through your cell phone and and drag you before a court, it's a wakeup call for people to think this is just an online exercise in scaring people," he said. "To throw yourself in the middle of a national presidential campaign with this kind of threatening activity will follow you for the rest of your life. This man's life will never be the same after this."
