Man Arrested for Threats Against Nancy Pelosi
Updated at 6:56 p.m. ET
The FBI arrested a California man Wednesday for allegedly making threatening and harassing phone calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over health care reform, law enforcement officials said.
Officials have confirmed to CBS News that Gregory Lee Guisti, 48, of San Francisco has been arrested for making harassing phone calls to Pelosi at her offices and at home.
The officials told CBS News these charges and the content of the calls were less serious that the ones involving Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who had recently received death threats.
Joseph Schadler, spokesman for the FBI's San Francisco office, did not disclose the charges against Giusti, but said he's due before a federal magistrate Thursday morning.
Several federal officials said the man made dozens of calls to Pelosi's homes in California and Washington, D.C., as well as to her husband's business office. They said he recited her home address and said if she wanted to see it again, she would not support the health care overhaul bill that since has been enacted.
One official said the man is believed to have spoken directly with Pelosi at least once.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
A Pelosi spokesman said the House speaker thanked the FBI for their investigation into the threats but would have no further comment on the arrest, CBS News Station KPIX-TV in San Francisco reported.
On Monday, the House Speaker told reporters in San Francisco that "people have been active in expressing their disagreement."
Sometimes those expressions have risen "to the level of threats or violence," Pelosi said, explaining that she was not allowed to comment on her own situation.
Rose Riggs, a neighbor of Giusti in a public housing complex in the city's Tenderloin district, said she saw two plainclothes and two uniformed officers take him away in zip-tie cuffs. Riggs, 62, said Giusti was known for engaging in heated political debates with others in the building.
"He was not one of my favorite people. He had a real attitude problem," she said.
Charges also have been filed against a Philadelphia man who allegedly made a YouTube video threatening Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.
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