Frederick County man charged with making threats against vice president | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com
By: C. Max Bachmann For The Northern Virginia Daily (The Northern Virginia Daily)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A Frederick County man who allegedly made thousands of online posts threatening to kill or harm Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and other high-ranking public officials faces federal charges.
Frank Lucio Carillo, 66, appeared in U.S. District Court in Roanoke on Monday after he was arrested at his home last week. He is charged with one felony count of making threats against the vice president of the United States.
According to federal court documents, Carillo was traced to a number of posts on the conservative-leaning social media site GETTR attacking Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, including posts threatening to burn her alive and wishing her "to suffer a slow agonizing death."
Another post stated that he had his "AR-15 LOCKED AND LOADED." Authorities said they seized an AR-15 rifle, pistol and "thousands of rounds of ammunition" from Carillo's home in the 200 block of Brigstock Drive just outside Winchester on Aug. 2.
Court documents state that on July 27, 2024, the Maricopa County, Arizona, Recorder's Office alerted the FBI in Phoenix about potential threats by a user on GETTR. The user, "joemadarats1," had made approximately 4,359 posts and replies targeting various officials, including Biden, Harris and FBI Director Christopher Wray, as well as the Maricopa County recorder. Harris was mentioned 19 times with numerous threats of violence.
"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 ...," the user posted on July 27.
That same day, the user made another post, saying, "Kamala Harris needs to be put on fire alive I will do it personally if no one else does it I want her to suffer a slow agonizing death."
Authorities were able to obtain GETTR subscriber information and matched the "joemadrats1" username with Carillo.
On Aug. 2, agents from the FBI searched Carillo's home, at which point he made remarks questioning the reason for his arrest and eventually admitted to making the posts.
Carillo said to himself, "…for a comment. This is ridiculous, for a comment. I guess I'm gonna need a lawyer." Court records also indicate that he stated to investigators: "This is all over a comment, huh?"
Agents also located a woman at the residence, whose identity has not been released, but who is believed to be an "associate" of Carillo's who has lived with him at multiple residences, according to court records.
Following his arrest, Carillo asked if the woman was also being arrested. When an agent said he didn't know, Carillo said "she didn't do anything, I made the comments."
During the search, authorities confiscated an AR-15 and 9 mm handgun, which were purchased by Carillo in 2024 and 2023, respectively, according to records. In addition to making threats against Harris, Carillo made multiple posts threatening to shoot people.
"DON'T WAIT FOR YOUR GOV. GO OUT WITH YOUR GUNS AND KILL ALL MUSLIMS," said one post from Nov. 23, 2023. Another post, made on July 27, stated that, "I believe when the illegals show up to vote they should be shot in the head quickly they are not allowed to vote so then they must die cuz if I see any of them I'll kill them," according to court records.
Records also stated that on March 24, Carillo made a post calling for an attack on Biden, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"TRUDEAU IS A CLOWN PUPPET HE MUST BE TAKEN OUT AND SHOT JUST LIKE BIDEN AND HIS ADMIN," the post read.
Another post was made on July 27, almost a week after Biden announced that he would not be seeking reelection.
"Crapler Harris is laying thieving piece of garbage like the rest of this administration they all need to die and they will soon," it read.
Some of Carillo's alleged threats followed the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
"Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate. However, when those disagreements cross the line to threats of violence, law enforcement must step in," United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia said in a Monday news release.
Federal law prohibits any Americans from threatening the president or anyone in the line of succession to the presidency, with the offense punishable by up to five years in prison.
Following his arrest, Carillo was taken into custody by United States marshals and held for several days at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center outside of Winchester.
He remains in custody at another location following his initial court appearance Monday. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday in Charlottesville.
Carillo is being represented by attorney Andrea S. Lantz Harris, who could not be reached for comment Monday.
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oh look, another maga intellectual...
Nobody should be surprised when the political system is so increasingly divisive and the freedom of speech and expression so broad. I expect that that and mental illness will be his lawyer's argument.
Another big talker; who is definitely not a doer.
... yeah, no maga street cred at all, none ...
He looks like he lives in Winchester. Last time I was in Winchester we were at an outdoor concert. We took the only picnic table that was left, which was bordering the parking lot. The table was right next to a hummer with a (presumably) disabled mounted artillery gun on the back and two giant Trump flags. The place was full of these creatures.
Looks like a Zombie
Oh...he's mentally ill and needs medical treatment!/S