MAN THREATENING SEN. MURRAY TAKEN INTO CUSTODY…. After excessive amounts of overheated rhetoric during the debate over health care reform, a few too many Democratic lawmakers faced threats from unhinged activists. It’s good to know law enforcement officials are taking these threats seriously, and aren’t afraid to make arrests when warranted. (thanks to K.Z. for the tip)
Federal prosecutors have charged a Washington state man, Charles Wilson, with repeatedly making threatening calls to Sen. Patty Murray’s district office, threatening to kill her because of her support for the health-care bill.
FBI agents say they arrested Wilson after getting telephone records and calling him to confirm that his voice matched the voice left on voice mail in Sen. Murray’s office. Agents called, posing as opponents of the health-care bill, and engaged in a 14-minute conversation with him.
According to officials, Wilson began making menacing calls months ago, but as the vote drew nearer, so too did the intensity of his anger. It culminated in expletive-laced messages in which Wilson said he wanted to kill the Democratic senator, and specifically referenced his expectation that it would only take a single piece of lead.
This is, as far as I can tell, the first arrest associated with right-wing opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Last week, a Philadelphia man was charged with threatening House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), but the deranged man had also threatened a variety of other officials, and was motivated by his belief that he is tasked by God to eliminate evil — in other words, it wasn’t related to health care legislation.
