LONG BEACH (CNS) – A Pennsylvania man is facing possible charges Thursday after allegedly threatening a local U.S. congressman with death, and arrested trying to enter a federal building.
The threats were aimed at Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, by 43-year- old Richard Griffin, who U.S. Capitol police say has “a history of emailing a Congressional office, as well as various government officials and law enforcement agencies.”
A statement issued by Garcia’s office on Tuesday said the suspect allegedly sent a message to his congressional office, “stating that he was going to travel to Washington, D.C. to kill him.”
Griffin was spotted by a USCP Rapid Response Team around 12:30 p.m. that day — Election Day — and “was stopped before he could attempt to go through security screening at the Delaware Avenue Door of the Russell Senate Office Building,” according to a news release.
Garcia was in California at the time, his office later announced.
Griffin had been the subject of a be-on-the-lookout bulletin published by the USCP’s Threat Assessment Section on Oct. 28.
“We will not tolerate any threats to the members of Congress, their families or staff,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said in a statement. “Our officers, agents and professional staff work relentlessly to bring offenders to justice. We have a zero-tolerance stance when it comes to threats.”
“Congressman Garcia is in California and is safe,” the statement read. “We are grateful to the U.S. Capitol Police and the House Sergeant at Arms for their swift action and for their continued protection of everyone who works in and visits the Capitol.”
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