A Maryland man has been arrested and charged with threatening to kidnap and kill Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his vice presidential running mate Sen. Kamala Harris, according to multiple sources.
The U.S. Secret Service filed a criminal complaint Wednesday against 42-year-old James Dale Reed, law enforcement officials said.
Reed has been locked up in Frederick County without bond since last Friday, court records show, according to The New York Times. He has been charged with threatening a presidential candidate, a federal crime that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. He also faces two state charges of threatening mass violence and voter intimidation.
The note warns of the intention to beat up “Grandpa Biden” and rape Harris, while also targeting their Democratic supporters, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Authorities have not revealed whether the man took any actual steps to carry out the plan.
“The defendant, James Dale Reed, knowingly and willfully threatened to kill and to kidnap and to inflict bodily harm upon Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, who are major candidates for the office of the President and Vice President of the United States,” the complaint states, adding that the letter also contained the chilling promise “this will happen.”
The Times reported that on Oct. 4 Reed allegedly placed the handwritten threats onto Biden-Harris campaign signs that were displayed on the lawn of a house in his hometown of Frederick, northwest of Washington.
A doorbell camera captured the suspect delivering the threatening letter on a doorstep in the middle of the night, court papers said.
“We have a list of homes and addresses by your election signs. We are the ones with those scary guns, We are the ones your children have nightmares about. The Boogeymen coming in the night,” part of the note stated.
When detectives took Reed’s palm prints and a sample of his writing, he acknowledged writing the letter, the complaint stated.
Law enforcement also recognized Reed from a 2014 incident in which threats were made against an individual under Secret Service protection.
On his Facebook page, Reed describes himself as a semi-pro bodybuilder.
In a social media post last week, Reed complained about his home being searched by Frederick Police, whom he called a “bunch of thugs and gang members,” The Sun reported. “I just got my house raided today and my stuff stolen from me because they felt that I was a threat to societee and I have made no threat to societee but they came into my house sees my property and stole everything.”
He is being represented by the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, the Times reported.
Earlier this month, several men were charged with plotting to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, who has become the target of anti-government militias over coronavirus control measures.
This is a breaking news development. Please stay with AJC.com for the latest updates.
