Man, 33, charged with threatening to kill US Vice President

A federal grand jury has charged a 33-year-old Ohio man with threatening to kill US Vice President JD Vance during the vice president’s visit to the state in January, the US Justice Department said on Friday.

The suspect, Shannon Mathre of Toledo, is accused of making threats to take the life of and inflict bodily harm on the vice president. According to the Justice Department, Mathre allegedly said he intended to locate Vance and kill him using an M14 automatic rifle. Authorities did not disclose where the threat was made.

Mathre was arrested by US Secret Service agents on Friday and made his initial court appearance before a US magistrate judge in the Northern District of Ohio the same day.

The Justice Department said investigators also discovered multiple digital files containing child sexual abuse material in Mathre’s possession during the probe into the alleged threat.

He remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for February 11.

The charge is the latest in a series of security incidents involving Vice President Vance. In early January, Vance reported that an individual attempted to break into his Ohio home by hammering on the windows. His family was not present at the time, and a 26-year-old suspect was later taken into custody, according to US media reports.

AFP