Jeffries identified himself on Tuesday as the legislator in the complaint. Speaking with Chris Hayes of MSNBC, Jeffries said his brother received the message just as members were being evacuated from the Capitol while armed protesters stormed the building to prevent President Joe Biden’s election certification. President Donald Trump was impeached the following week on charges of inciting insurrection, and several of the protesters publicly said they were motivated to invade the Capitol because of Trump.
Trump had, for months, sown doubts about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, presenting conspiracy theories and falsehoods that Democrats had stolen his victory. Biden won both the popular vote and the Electoral College, and election officials from both parties across the country said there was no evidence of widespread irregularities.
“What was scary about the message received is that this guy said, ‘Stop telling lies. Biden did not win. He will not be president, ‘”Jeffries told Hayes on Tuesday. “And then he was radicalized by the big lie that Donald Trump told and that was supported by so many Republicans in the House and the Senate.”
A relative of an unidentified journalist who lives in New York also received a threatening message from Lemke, according to the complaint.
“Words are putting you and your family at risk,” the message said, according to the complaint. “We are close armed and ready. Thousands of us are police, military, etc. active / retired. That’s how we do it. ”
Trump repeatedly referred to journalists as “enemies of the people,” and several reporters on Capitol Hill during the attack said they were attacked and their equipment destroyed.
Lemke was arrested in Bay Point, California, according to a Justice Department press release. He was accused of making threatening interstate communications, which could lead to up to five years in prison.
“Rather than disagreeing peacefully, Lemke allegedly threatened to hurt the families of these individuals by requiring them to recant,” Manhattan prosecutor Audrey Strauss said in the statement. “The electoral process is the essential mechanism through which our democracy works. Although in any election it is inevitable that some will be disappointed with the result, threats of violence cannot and will not be tolerated ”.
Lemke said in his messages and on social media that he was a former police officer or military veteran, according to the complaint. His Facebook profile and telephone records indicated that he was a former member of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, the complaint said. But the department issued a statement on Tuesday denying any connection to Lemke.
“There is very false information on social media that Robert Lemke worked for the Alameda County sheriff,” the department said. “This information has proven to be false by the FBI and our agency.”