Virginia man arrested after allegedly threatening Maricopa County recorder, Kamala Harris
Aug 6, 2024, 10:27 AM | Updated: 12:38 pm
Frank Lucio Carillo allegedly made threatening social media comments targeting public officials, prosecutors said. (Photos via Roanoke City Adult Detention Center)
(Photos via Roanoke City Adult Detention Center)
PHOENIX — A threat a Virginia man sent to a Maricopa County official snowballed into an arrest after authorities discovered he allegedly made thousands of online threats toward public figures, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
It started when 66-year-old Frank Lucio Carillo allegedly threatened Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, according to a criminal complaint.
Carillo allegedly made his thousands of political threats on the conservative social media platform GETTR.
Richer’s office notified the FBI in Phoenix of the potential threats from a user named “joemadarats1” in late July, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia.
Investigators later connected the account to Carillo.
What threats did Virginia man allegedly send?
Carillo allegedly said “somebody needs to remove” Richer “permanently,” according to the criminal complaint.
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The FBI received records from GETTR revealing that the account made 4,359 comments targeting Richer and other public officials.
In posts made July 27, a week after Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris for president, Carillo allegedly posted that he wanted to set the vice president on fire, dismember her and shoot and kill anyone who gets in his way, according to the criminal complaint.
He also allegedly targeted Biden, FBI Director Christopher Wray and others with threats and called for gun violence against Muslims and undocumented migrants.
Charges the suspect is facing for alleged political threats
Authorities served a search warrant at Carillo’s home on Aug. 2, prosecutors said.
They seized an AR-15 rifle, a 9mm pistol and thousands of ammunition rounds.
Carillo was charged in a federal criminal complaint with one count of making threats against the vice president.
After news broke of Carillo’s arrest, a spokesperson with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office expressed relief.
“The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office is grateful for law enforcement’s swift action to address threats made against Recorder Stephen Richer and other elected officials,” the spokesperson said in a statement shared with KTAR News 92.3 FM. “Our team was able to report the initial threat within hours of it being posted and law enforcement at the local, state, and federal level sprang into action. We consider our office very fortunate to have such a strong partnership with our brave law enforcement agencies.”
