Buffalo man arrested, accused of threatening to kill Mike Collins, sheriff says

Georgia officials traveled all the way to New York to arrest a man accused of threatening to kill Republican U.S. Senate nominee Mike Collins and his son-in-law.

The suspect, identified by authorities as Anthony Lantrell Bennett of Buffalo, New York, is facing charges out of Butts County, south of Atlanta and next to Henry and Newton counties. Bennett was arrested Friday with the assistance of the GBI and FBI’s Buffalo Field Office and faces two counts of terroristic threats, the Butts County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

According to the Butts sheriff’s office, Bennett “acknowledged” sending a threatening message to kill the U.S. Senate candidate and his son-in-law. Officials did not say how that message was sent or disclose the contents of the message.

The threat was tied to information in an online story that investigators with the Butts sheriff’s office said was “not accurate or true.” Authorities did not identify the story.

Numerous headlines in recent weeks have focused on the Collins campaign and the congressman’s son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, who has made white nationalist and antisemitic social media posts and who lives on property owned by Collins.

“No American should have to worry that their home could be the next Butler, Pennsylvania or Utah Valley University,” Collins said, referring to the 2024 assassination attempt of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in 2025. “I’m grateful to the FBI, the Butts County Sheriff’s Department, and all law enforcement partners for acting quickly to protect my family.”

Collins, who defeated first-time candidate Derek Dooley for the Republican senate nomination, is running against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. In a Monday post on X, Collins blamed Ossoff’s campaign rhetoric for inciting violence against him and his family.

“My opponent should be condemning political violence, not whipping it up. He should apologize, retract his false attacks, and campaign on the issues affecting Georgians,” Collins posted.

Ossoff has consistently referred to Collins as “bigot Congressman Mike Collins” and called news conferences to demand Collins answer for his son-in-law’s social media posts. A spokesperson for Ossoff said the senator “condemns all threats of violence.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is working to learn more about the incident that led to Bennett’s arrest.

“I understand politics. I understand disagreements. But there is a line that cannot be crossed. Threatening to kill a public official or his family is not politics — it is a criminal act, and we will take it seriously and hold those responsible accountable just as we did in this case,” Butts Sheriff Gary Long said in a statement.

Several Georgia politicians have been the targets of threats in recent years. In 2021, a New York man was convicted of making threats against Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.