A 30-year-old New Hampshire man faces federal charges after authorities say he texted a threat to kill Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.
Tyler Anderson, of Dover, was due for an initial appearance Monday afternoon in Concord federal court on the charges, which could see him thrown in prison for up to five years.
According to investigators, Anderson responded to a text message from the Ramaswamy campaign advertising a Monday morning breakfast event in Portsmouth
“Great, another opportunity for me to blow [Ramaswamy’s] brains out!,” Anderson allegedly replied, per court documents.
In a follow-up message, investigators say Anderson warned: “I’m going to kill everyone who attends and then f— their corpses.”
Court documents did not identify Ramaswamy as the threatened candidate, but details of the event matched the biotech entrepreneur’s campaign calendar, and a spokeswoman confirmed the 38-year-old was the subject of Anderson’s threat.
“We are grateful to law enforcement for their swiftness and professionalism in handling this matter and pray for the safety of all Americans,” Tricia McLaughlin told The Post.
When authorities arrested Anderson on Saturday, they found similar messages on his phone responding to a different campaign.
“Fantastic, now I know where to go so I can blow that bastard’s head off,” read one Dec. 6 message, while a follow-up read: “Home you have the stamina for a mass shooting!”
Court documents did not identify the candidate who was subject to the earlier threat, but the campaign’s message used the phrase “tell it like it is,” a statement associated with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Anderson faces a single charge of transmitting an interstate threat to injure, according to court documents.
In addition to the prison sentence, he could receive up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Ramaswamy is currently polling at an average of 7% in New Hampshire ahead of the state’s Jan. 23 primary, according to RealClearPolitics.
Former President Donald Trump leads the pack with an average of 45.7% support, followed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (18.7%), Christie (11.3%), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (7.7%) and Ramaswamy.
