ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Coon Rapids man has been sentenced to one year and one day for making interstate threats against a U.S. Senator, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, on June 11, 2022, Brendon Michael Daugherty, 35, left two voicemail messages on the field office telephone of a U.S. Senator located outside the state of Minnesota. Both messages contained threats of violence directed at the U.S. Senator. In his first message, Daugherty stated, “You and the Republican Party should be proud that you’re pushing me to become a domestic terrorist. Have a nice [expletive] day; can’t wait to kill ya." In his second message, Daugherty stated, “I also just wanted to note, thank God the Republican Party is against gun control laws because it would keep guns out of the hands of a person that was disabled and volatile like I am, but you guys are totally against that. So, I may actually get to carry out my nefarious goals." Field office staff retrieved and recorded the messages and reported them to U.S. Capitol Police.
Daugherty pleaded guilty on Nov. 1, 2022, to one count of interstate transmission of a threat to injure the person of another. Daugherty was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud. In handing down the sentence, Judge Tostrud emphasized that threats directed at elected officials pose a “pernicious threat to our democratic institutions."
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Capitol Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Svendsen prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys