(UnitedVoice.com) – Threatening the president of the United States is an incredibly serious crime. Title 18 US Code § 871 makes it a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. A New York City man was recently arrested for doing exactly that.
On Monday, January 7, the District Court for the Eastern District of NY unsealed an arrest warrant for 72-year-old Thomas Welnicki for calling the US Capitol Police and Secret Service multiple times to threaten former President Donald Trump. According to the criminal complaint, the man started making threats in 2020, claiming the 45th POTUS was a danger to the Republic, and continued through the fall of last year.
In July 2020, Welnicki volunteered to speak to the US Capitol Police. He told law enforcement he was going to “acquire weapons” if Trump lost and refused to leave office. However, even after the former president left office, the man continued to make threats.
A New York man upset with what he perceived as Donald Trump's threats to democracy was criminally charged with threatening to kill the former U.S. president, who he once referred to as Hitler https://t.co/R2qIY2UnVA pic.twitter.com/lklY2q2y7K
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 11, 2022
Welnicki told the Secret Service he was going to do everything possible to “make sure [Trump] is dead.”
The suspect appeared by video in federal court on January 10. The court released him on a $50,000 bond. He must wear a GPS monitor while he awaits trial.
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