A Connecticut man is facing charges that he threatened to murder Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Robert M. Phelps, 62, was arrested Friday and released on $25,000 bond after appearing in federal court in Bridgeport, Connecticut, according to the DOJ.
A representative for Schiff declined to comment.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Schiff’s office received a threatening message on Nov. 12 through a meeting request form on the congressman’s website.
The meeting request included the statement, “I want to kill you with my bare hands and smash your … face in.” In addition, in response to a question about a preferred day of the week for the meeting, Phelps wrote, “Measure your Coffin day,” prosecutors allege.
According to the DOJ, investigators interviewed Phelps at his home on Dec. 4 and confirmed that Phelps wrote and sent the threatening communication.
The complaint charges Phelps with threatening to assault and murder a U.S. official and with making interstate threats, which carry a total possible prison sentence of up to 15 years, according to the DOJ.
Schiff has been a frequent target of insults from President Donald Trump over Schiff’s leadership of the impeachment effort that was ultimately rejected by the Senate.
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