Robert Vargo, 25, of Berwick, Pennsylvania, also threatened to
kill the committee chair's family and President Joe Biden,
prosecutors said.
He was charged with threatening the president of the United
States, threat by interstate communications, and influencing a
federal official by threat, the U.S. Attorney's office for the
Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a statement.
Reuters could not immediately identify the lawyer representing
Vargo in order to seek a comment in his defense.
Vargo, who once escaped from the Pennsylvania jail where he is
being held, could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of
the federal charges.
Prosecutors allege Vargo sent a threatening letter and white
powder to the congressional office of U.S. Representative Bennie
Thompson, chairman of the committee that is investigating the
Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The letter, which referenced the congressional probe and
anthrax, also threatened U.S. District Court Judge Robert
Mariani, according to prosecutors.
"I'm going to kill you! I will make you feel the rest of our
pain & suffering," the letter to Thompson said. "There is
nowhere or nobody who can keep you from me. I am going to kill
you & those you love."
The letter also says, "You & Joe Biden soon will face death for
the wrongs you've done to US."
U.S. Capitol Police who investigated the threat found the white
powder to be harmless.
Vargo sent the letter from the Luzerne County Correctional
Facility, prosecutors said.
Vargo had escaped from the Pennsylvania jail in July and was
caught several days later in South Carolina, according to media
reports at the time that cited Luzerne County District Attorney
Sam Sanguedolce.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, Calif.; Editing by
Matthew Lewis)
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