Federal authorities arrested a 74-year-old New York man Friday for allegedly threatening two U.S. senators over their votes for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Ronald DeRisi of Smithtown, New York, is accused of making phone calls to the offices of the unnamed senators between Sept. 27 and Oct. 8, and delivering vulgar death threats.

A report in the New York Post identified the senators as Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Collins said Sunday in a prepared statement she appreciates the law enforcement response to the threats she has received.

“While law enforcement officials have asked that I not comment on the specific charges, let me take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for the professionalism and extraordinary responsiveness of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to threats against me, my family, and my staff. “

“He’s a dead man,” one September call said, according to an investigator’s affidavit. “Nine millimeter, side of the (expletive) head. If (expletive) Kavanaugh gets in, he’s dead (expletive) meat. Actually, even if Kavanaugh doesn’t get in, he’s dead (expletive) meat.”

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On Oct. 6, the day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, DeRisi is alleged to have told another senator, “You better pray this guy don’t get in.” Calling again less than an hour and a half later, he allegedly said, “I’m gonna get you.”

U.S. Capitol Police used phone and bank records to trace the calls back to DeRisi, according to the affidavit. DeRisi previously pleaded guilty in 2015 to making threatening phone calls to a person in Long Island.

DeRisi has not yet retained or been assigned a lawyer, according to court records. He was due to appear Friday in federal court on Long Island.

“Representative democracy cannot work if elected officials are threatened with death for simply doing their job,” said Richard Donoghue, the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of New York. “The First Amendment – the pinnacle of American achievement – protects debate, disagreement and dissent, not death threats.”

The charges against DeRisi highlight a spate of illegal political threats that have emerged from opponents of Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation. A 27-year-old former Senate staffer was arrested this month for allegedly posting the phone numbers and personal addresses of three Republican senators who supported Kavanaugh. An unknown person mailed a threatening letter mentioning Kavanaugh to the Bangor, Maine, home of Sen. Collins, falsely claiming that the letter contained poison.

Those incidents, as well as the legal but aggressive tactics of activists opposed to Kavanaugh, have led Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Republicans to accuse Democrats of “mob” behavior. But the activity has not been confined to one side.

A Florida man was charged on Oct. 3 after allegedly threatening to shoot members of Congress and their families if Kavanaugh was not confirmed.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said James Royal Patrick Jr. posted on social media that if Kavanaugh were not confirmed, “whoever I think is to blame may God have mercy on their soul.”

President Trump last week praised a Republican congressman’s assault of a news reporter who sought to ask him about a pending health-care bill.


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