FBI arrests man accused of threatening Boehner over unemployment insurance

WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- The FBI arrested an Indiana man Thursday night for allegedly threatening to kill House Speaker John Boehner for delaying a vote on extending emergency unemployment insurance.

Brandon James Thompson, 32, of New Castle, Ind., was taken into custody at his home Thursday night and faces federal charges for making phone and email threats to an elected official.

According to an FBI affidavit, Thompson admitted to sending threatening messages to the Ohio Republican's congressional website using his neighbor's wifi, and leaving threatening voicemails on Boehner's wife Debbie's personal cellphone.

The message sent to Boehner's congressional website on March 31:

WELL YOU DRUNK JOHN BIN LADEN ITS TIME TO TAKE YOU OUT MOTHER[EXPLETIVE] YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH 2.7 MILLION PEOPLES LIVES I AM GOING TO TAKE YOURS YOU WILL NEVER SEE IT COMING WITH MY SNIPER RIFLE WERE YOU SOON :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Debbie Boehner reported receiving the voicemails to the Capitol Police on May 1:

"I'm coming after your oompa loompa fucking husband. He should... he shoulda extended unemployment insurance. Now it's too late. Imma rip his [expletive] head off."

And another on May 6:

"You tell your husband to redo the unemployment extension because I'm going to come for him," one of the calls said. "I'm going to rip his [expletive] head off. He's not untouchable, I will get my hands on him."

Thompson received $341 per week in unemployment checks until, after emergency unemployment compensation expired in December, the checks stopped January 11.

The Senate passed an extension that would provide long-term benefits to the jobless through the end of this month and retroactively from December 28, 2013. The House leadership has so far refused to take up the bill, despite bipartisan pressure.

Boehner Threat Criminal Complaint