A California man was arrested on Tuesday after federal officials said he sent threatening text messages to family members of a New York City congressman and journalist.
Prosecutors allege that Robert Lemke, 35, of Bay Point, California, sent a January 6 message to a relative of an unidentified journalist, saying that person’s words “are putting you and your family at risk,” according with a federal criminal complaint outside of New York City.
“We are armed and ready close by,” said the suspect in a text described in the document. “Thousands of us are police, military, etc. active / retired. That’s how we do it ”.
Also on January 6, prosecutors said Lemke sent a text message to the brother of an unidentified congressman and included a photo of a house in his brother’s neighborhood.
“Your brother is putting his whole family at risk with his lies and other words. We are armed and close to your home, “it would have said in the text.” You better talk to him. We are not far from it either. I already spoke with [Congressman-1’s son] and know where your children are. “
The suspect believed in the misinformation that President Joe Biden did not win the November elections, officials said.
In the text to the legislator’s brother, the authorities said Lemke wrote: “His words have consequences. Stop telling lies; Biden did not win, he will not be president. “
He went on to say that he and others who opposed Biden’s victory are not white supremacists and claimed that “most of us are active / retired military personnel”.
Lemke supposedly warned, “Don’t risk their safety with your words and lies.”
Lemke was arrested around 6 am PT and he is due to make his first appearance in a federal court in San Francisco, about 35 miles southwest of his home, on Wednesday, officials said.
Lemke’s family members could not be reached for comment on several telephone numbers publicly listed for them in northern California on Tuesday afternoon. The Federal Public Defender’s Office was not immediately hired to defend him, said a supervisor at the agency’s San Francisco office.
Lemke was apparently active on Facebook to express his support for Trump and other causes. Lemke’s Facebook account included a background image of Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who aimed their guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home this summer, officials said.
Shortly after the election, officials said Lemke wrote on Facebook: “Guys. Be ready for war. Rum refused to budge. Evidence shows that there has been fraud and the Supreme Court’s cases will be successful.”
For weeks after the election, Trump made continual baseless claims that he was duped in winning the November election.
The ex-president’s disinformation campaign culminated in a deadly uproar on January 6, when his supporters invaded the United States Capitol and delayed Congress formally accepting the vote of the Electoral College that handed the White House over to Biden. Five people died as a result of the violence.
David K. Li contributed.