Pennsylvania inmate charged with threatening to kill Biden, Thompson

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a 25-year-old Pennsylvania inmate on charges of threatening to kill President Joe Biden and Rep. Bennie Thompson.

U.S. Attorney Gerard Karam announced in a statement Wednesday that Robert Maverick Vargo of Berwick, Pa., was indicted on charges of threatening the U.S. president, interstate communications with a threat and influencing a federal official by threat.

Prosecutors accuse Vargo of sending Thompson -- who is the chair of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol building -- a letter containing threats against the Mississippi Democrat, his family, Biden and U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani.

U.S. Capitol Police said last week that the letter was received Oct. 11 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., and contained "concerning language."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Wednesday the letter contained a white powder, though the law enforcement agency initially said "powder was not found inside."

The letter's text allegedly alluded to it being anthrax, but the U.S. Capitol Police Hazardous Material Response Team determined the substance did not pose an immediate public safety hazard, prosecutors said.

A section of the letter included in the announcement of the charges states it specifically referenced Thompson's role in investigating the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol.

"I'm going to kill you!" the excerpt of the letter states. "I will make you feel the rest of our pain & suffering. There is nowhere or nobody who can keep you from me. I'm going to kill you & those you love. I promise you that I will keep my promise until the day of my death.

"You & Joe Biden soon will face death for the wrongs you've done to US."

An investigation into the letter determined it was sent from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility in Wilkes-Barre where Vargo was being held.

In mid-July, Vargo was the target of a manhunt after he escaped from the facility where he was being held on charges in connection to a previous burglary.

Authorities said he had walked away from the minimal offenders unit.

He was re-arrested days later with his girlfriend, Amanda Saxer, in South Carolina.

If convicted on charges of threatening to kill Biden and Thompson, Vargo could face up to 25 years in prison, a term of supervised release and a fine.