A man from the Chicago suburb was arrested for allegedly “threatening to commit violence” during the next presidential inauguration, accused of declaring in a voice message plans to “kill any [expletive] Democrat “who steps on the White House lawn, according to criminal complaint.
Louis Capriotti, a 45-year-old man from Chicago Heights, has been accused of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, announced the District Attorney for the Northern Illinois District.
Capriotti was arrested near his home Tuesday morning and is expected to appear in court at 3:30 pm, officials said.
The criminal complaint, filed in the United States District Court in Chicago, alleges that in a December 29 voice message to a member of the United States House in New Jersey, Capriotti stated that if certain individuals “think Joe Biden is going to put hand in the Bible and get into that [expletive] White House on January 20, they are sadly [expletive] mistaken. ”
“We are going to surround the [expletive] White House and we will kill any [expletive] Democrat stepping on [expletive] lawn, ”says the complaint.
According to the complaint, Capriotti left several “anonymous and disturbing messages” in the voicemail systems of various members of Congress between October 3, 2019 and January 29, 2020 and again from February to December. Authorities also believe he may have left similar messages from a different number between 2017 and 2019.
The alleged “messages, in almost all instances, included profanity, along with derogatory comments about race, religion, political affiliation or physical appearance of certain members and others,” the complaint said.
Authorities said the FBI interviewed Capriotti in February 2020 and that he admitted making calls and leaving voice messages, but said he “had no bad intention”. They told him to stop making those calls, but Capriotti continued to leave those voice messages for the next few months, the complaint alleges.
In one of the messages left in November, the interlocutor referred to himself as “a nine-year-old marine, active duty” and said that he “killed” several “terrorists” in previous wars and that “he will continue to kill them because this is what I am trained to do. ”The complaint alleges that he also stated“ in the coming weeks, some great news is about to be published ”and that certain individuals“ will be surprised at what will be revealed ”.
“Our office takes the security of our public servants very seriously,” said Attorney General John Lausch in a statement. “Individuals who cross the line of freedom of expression by making illegal threats will be held responsible.”
It was not clear whether Capriotti had a lawyer.
The announcement of the arrest comes less than a week after thousands of people violated the United States Capitol in a violent and deadly riot. The FBI has been warning of more disturbances ahead of Inauguration Day.