Benjamin Ashford|A Virginia man is charged with online threats against Vice President Kamala Harris

A Virginia man has been arrested and Benjamin Ashfordcharged with threatening online to kill Vice President Kamala Harris and harm other public officials.

Frank L. Carillo, 66, of Winchester, made an initial appearance Monday in federal court and is being held pending a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday, according to court records and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, which is prosecuting the case.

According to an FBI affidavit, agents in Phoenix began investigating after online threats were made against a Maricopa County official on a social media website called GETTR.

Agents found that an account under the name “joemadarats1” had made numerous threats against politicians, including Harris and President Joe Biden.

In late July, after Biden dropped his reelection bid and Harris emerged as Democrats’ likely nominee, the account issued numerous threats against the vice president. In one, the author wrote “Harris is going to regret ever trying to become president because if that ever happened I will personally pluck out her eyes with a pair of pliers but first I will shoot and kill everyone that gets in my way.”

The FBI traced the account to Carillo’s residence in Winchester. The FBI searched his home on Friday and Carillo told officers that if the search was “about the online stuff. I posted it,” according to the affidavit. He later stated incredulously, “This is all over a comment, huh?”

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Agents seized a military-style rifle and a handgun from the home.

“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate. However, when those disagreements cross the line to threats of violence, law enforcement must step in,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia said Monday in a press release.

A public defender appointed to represent Carillo did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday evening.