A 48-year-old Washington state man was arrested Wednesday and charged in federal court for allegedly making threats against members of Congress via voicemail. FOX13
Mark Leonetti, of Longview, appeared Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma on seven counts of making interstate threats, according to U.S. Attorney for Western Washington Nick Brown.Officials allege that starting in 2021 Leonetti left hundreds of violent, racist and antisemitic voicemails for members in the U.S. House and Senate.
During the past two years, Leonetti was contacted about the messages by law enforcement and mental health professionals, but officials said the messages continued. Law enforcement and the Department of Justice are seeing a dramatic increase in political threats, Brown said. Brown said as U.S. attorney he needs to take verbal threats seriously, in part because of concerns that those threats can escalate into physical violence.
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