A Maryland gun enthusiast was charged on Wednesday with threatening to kidnap, torture and assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate Senator Kamala Harris in a note he left on the doorstep of a neighbor who had Biden and Harris signs in his yard.
James Dale Reed, 42, of Frederick, Maryland, was caught on the neighbor's doorbell camera leaving the note outside the home on Oct. 4.
Reed Threatened to Sexually Assault Harris
"Warning!!!," the heading on the note read, in large red letters. "This is a warning to anyone reading this letter [sic] if you are a Biden/Harris supporter you will be targeted. We have a list of homes and addresses by your election signs. We are the ones with those scary guns," the letter read in part.
Reed also boasts that he's a heavily armed "boogeyman" whom "your children have nightmares about" before describing a detailed plot against Biden and Harris, whom he vowed to personally sexually assault.
"When we capture Grandpa Biden we will all severely beat him to the point of death," Reed wrote in the note that was released by prosecutors. "For the grand end (they) both will be executed on National Television."
Facing 5 Years in Prison
Reed was identified after law enforcement officials used tips and facial recognition software to track him down and he was taken into custody on Thursday. At first, Reed reportedly denied writing and delivering the letter but later admitted to it. Reed claimed he was "upset at the politicial situation."
Reed is facing charges of threats against a major candidate for President or Vice President and two violations of state law, including mass violence threats and voter intimidation. If convicted, Reed will serve up to five years in prison.
"We take these types of threats extremely seriously," Maryland U.S. Attorney Robert Hur said in a statement. "Such threats to commit violence are illegal and have no place in our democracy, and we will hold accountable those who make them."
The Secret Service noted that Reed has previously threatened an unidentified person who was under the agency's protection in 2014. In his letter, Reed also threatened to kill ex-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a previous assassination attempt as well as "any other anti-gun group leader."
