Man from Pennsylvania accused of threatening to kill congressman
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man from Pennsylvania is accused of threatening to kill a United States congressman.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on Tuesday that Robert Lee Ingalls Jr. of Mechanicsburg, Pa. was charged with one count of interstate transmission of threatening communications in relation to the incident.
The Department of Justice said in a release that Ingalls left two threatening voicemail messages on the main congressional office system in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 6. Officials also said that in both voicemails, the 61-year-old Pennsylvania man "specifically threatened to kill a specifically identified" congressman.
An investigation found that Ingalls made the calls from his cell phone while in Mechanicsburg, the Department of Justice said.
Ingalls, who was arrested on Nov. 10, appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Daryl F. Bloom on Nov. 13. and was ordered held in pretrial detention pending action by a federal grand jury. Officials did not say which congressman the Pennsylvania man threatened to kill.
The 61-year-old man faces a maximum of five years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
The Department of Justice said the United States Capitol Police investigated and was assisted by the Fairview Township Police Department in York County, Pa.
