A Minneapolis man has been indicted for threatening to murder a member of Congress, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota said Friday.
On March 26, Michael Paul Lewis, 52, left a voicemail for the Congress member, threatening murder, a press release said. The press release didn’t identify the member but referenced the pronoun “her.”
It was also unclear whether the member was from Minnesota. In Minnesota, there are five women in the state’s congressional delegation: Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith as well as Reps. Betty McCollum, Angie Craig and Michelle Fischbach.
“Federal law protects our elected officials from this sort of violent, unhinged, and murderous rhetoric,” Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said in the press release. “It is entirely unacceptable. Defendants who attempt to terrorize public officials in this way will face the full weight of federal justice. I am grateful for the diligent and swift work of the FBI to hold this defendant to account.”
Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Senior of the Minneapolis FBI office said the threat does not fall under protected speech, but rather is a federal crime that requires immediate and decisive action.
“No one should be subject to violence for fulfilling their elected duty to represent the American people,” he said in the press release. “The FBI and our partners will investigate such threats thoroughly and hold accountable anyone who threatens the safety of our elected leaders.”
Lewis is charged with one count of threatening to murder a U.S. official and one count of interstate transmission of a threat to injure the other person. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Friday. He will remain in custody until his arraignment and detention hearing on April 23 before Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster.
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