Chicago man accused of threatening Sen. Flake ordered to Arizona
Oct 25, 2018, 5:17 PM | Updated: Oct 26, 2018, 4:46 pm
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. participates in an interview at the The Atlantic's 'The Constitution in Crisis' forum in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A Chicago man accused of threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake because he was “tired” of the Republican “interrupting” President Donald Trump will face the federal charges in Arizona.
James Dean Blevins allegedly made the threat on Sept. 17, the day that Flake and other senators pushed for a hearing allowing Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to testify about sexual misconduct allegations she made against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Flake later called for a one-week FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh, who was ultimately confirmed earlier this month with Trump’s support.
U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago said in a late Wednesday order that prosecutors in Arizona, where a grand jury indicted Blevins, didn’t agree to transfer the case to Chicago.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that prosecutors alleged at a Tuesday detention that Blevins left a voice message at Flake’s office, saying, “I am tired of him interrupting our president, and I am coming down there to take him and his family out.” Blevins’ lawyer said his client had been drinking.
Weisman said officials “need to be able to do their job without fear.” But he freed Blevins, ordering him to report to Arizona.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
