Virginia man faces charges after online threats to kill Kamala Harris

A Virginia man is facing charges for threatening online to kill Vice President Harris, on top of threats to other public officials. 

Frank Lucio Carillo was arrested Friday after a search of his account on the alternative social media platform GETTR by law enforcement yielded a series of violent threats against the vice president.  

“Kamala Harris needs to be put on fire alive I will do it personally if no one else does it I want her to suffer a slow agonizing death,” one of the posts read, according to Aug. 2 court filings. 

Other posts – all made on July 27, when Harris held her first campaign fundraiser and it became apparent she would be Democrats’ presumptive nominee – expressed interest in inflicting severe bodily harm on Harris. At least 19 references to Harris were found on the account, according to the filings.  

Carillo’s posts targeted other public officials as well, including President Biden and FBI Director Christopher Wray, though he has not been charged in connection with those comments at this time.  

The FBI became aware of Carillo’s account after the Maricopa County Recorder’s office in Arizona notified the agency about potential threats made against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a county election official who gained prominence online for pushing back against false claims of election fraud.  

In a Friday search of Carillo’s home, federal agents seized a rifle and handgun, according to an affidavit filed in support of his arrest. Carillo admitted to a law enforcement officer that, if his arrest was “about the online stuff. I posted it,” the affidavit said.  

Carillo was set to appear in federal court for an initial hearing Monday morning.  

The arrest comes on the heels of the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, which brought rising threats against public officials into the limelight.