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An individual from Ohio is facing charges after allegedly threatening the life of Vice President JD Vance during his recent visit to the state. However, the accused’s attorney argues that his health issues would likely prevent him from executing such a threat.
Beyond the accusation of threatening Vice President Vance, Shannon Mathre has also been indicted for possessing digital content showing child sexual abuse, uncovered during the investigation. This latter charge carries a significantly heavier potential sentence of up to 20 years behind bars, whereas the threat charge could lead to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.
Neil McElroy, Mathre’s attorney, noted that his client’s health problems were obvious during his court appearance last Friday, where he entered a not guilty plea. McElroy expressed skepticism about the logic behind the threat charge. He refrained from commenting on the child abuse material charge, citing a lack of information from prosecutors at this preliminary stage.
“Anyone who spends any time around Mr. Mathre or is aware of his physical and mental condition would recognize the absurdity of the threat,” McElroy stated. While he withheld specific details about Mathre’s health struggles, he mentioned that his client suffers from “some mental disabilities and several other conditions.”
Despite these claims, the Justice Department and Secret Service took Mathre’s statement seriously, in which he allegedly said, “I am going to find out where he (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him.”
The indictment filed in court doesn’t offer many details about the threat or the images he allegedly possessed, but the Secret Service said the investigation went beyond the online threat to also examine Mathre’s actions and behavior. The 33-year-old Toledo man’s Samsung phone was seized on Jan. 21 as part of the investigation.
“Our attorneys are vigorously prosecuting this disgusting threat against Vice President Vance,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “You can hide behind a screen, but you cannot hide from this Department of Justice.”
David M. Toepfer, who is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said “hostile and violent threats made against the Vice President, or any other public official, will not be tolerated in our district.”
Another Ohio man was charged last month after officials say he broke windows at Vance’s Ohio home not long after the Vice President returned to Washington following a weekend visit to Ohio. The Secret Service arrested William D. DeFoor, 26, as he ran from Vance’s home on Jan. 5. Vance is currently in Milan, Italy, attending the start of the Winter Olympic Games.
The Secret Service agent in charge of the Toledo office, Matthew Schierloh, said there should be zero tolerance for any kind of political violence in this country.
“The safety and security of those we protect is paramount to everything we do,” Schierloh said. “Thanks to vigilant members of the public and the tenacious work of our special agents, a comprehensive joint investigation was conducted, resulting in the arrest of a defendant for making threats against the Vice President.”
Mathre is doing back in court on Wednesday for a hearing to determine whether he will remain in custody as the case moves forward.
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