Who is Frank Carillo? Virginia man arrested for threatening to set Kamala Harris on ‘fire’
A Virginia man was charged with making violent online threats against Vice President Kamala Harris days after she began her US presidential campaign.
A Virginia man was take into custody for issuing online threats to kill Vice President Kamala Harris. He made the threats on microblogging platform GETTR after she launched her presidential bid following incumbent Joe Biden's exit, confirmed the FBI.
According to Virginia's federal court documents, Frank Carillo posted a series of messages on GETTR on July 27. These posts were directed at Harris, who has taken Biden's place as the Democratic candidate ahead of the November elections against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“Kamala Harris needs to be put on fire alive I will do it personally if no one else does,” one of Carillo's post read as per court documents, reported News Week.
“Harris is going to regret ever trying to become president because if that ever happened I will personally pluck out her eyes with a pair of pliers but first I will shoot and kill everyone that gets in my way that is a f****** promise,” he wrote in another post.
Moreover, Carillo also posted messages directed at FBI Director Christopher Wray and Biden.
FBI raids Frank Carillo's residence, discovers rifle and handgun
The court filings further state that FBI agents found a RF-15 rifle and 9 mm handgun during a search at Carillo's residence. He asked an officer during the raid if it was “about the online stuff” he “posted,” according to authorities.
After the search, he was taken into custody and now faces a five-year maximum jail sentence on the felony accusation against him.
He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, but his attorney's details were not accessible.
Meanwhile, the US Justice Department has expressed concerns over what they have described as an increase in threats against public servants in the country.
Trump faced an attempt on his life at a campaign rally last month. The 20-year-old gunman shot dead one rally goer and injured two other. The purpose of the shooting still remains unknown to the authorities.