– The Washington Post

WASHINGTON – A Philadelphia man was charged Monday with threatening to kill Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., and his family in the first such arrest since an outbreak of harassment and vandalism began against members of Congress more than a week ago.

Norman Leboon posted a YouTube video last week in which he threatened to shoot Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House, and his family.

An affidavit released Monday did not say why Leboon, 33, allegedly wanted to harm Cantor, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, but in the video, he calls Cantor “pure evil.”

The battle over health care has led to a spate of threats against members of Congress, mostly Democrats.

At least 10 House Democrats reported death threats, or incidents of harassment or vandalism at their district offices last week.

Last week, Cantor accused Democratic National Committee Chairman Timothy Kaine and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen of politicizing the subject of threats.

Democrats suggested Cantor was seeking to exploit the issue by staging a news conference to say his Richmond campaign office had been fired at March 23. Police later determined that a stray bullet hit his office.


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