A Chicago suburban man has been arrested for allegedly “threatening to commit violence” during the next presidential inauguration, accused of declaring in a voice message plans to “kill anyone [expletive] Democrat “stepping on the White House turf, according to a criminal complaint.
Louis Capriotti, a 45-year-old from Chicago Heights, was charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced for the northern district of Illinois.
Capriotti was arrested near his home Tuesday morning and is scheduled to appear in court at 3:30 p.m., officials said.
The criminal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Chicago, alleges that in a Dec. 29 voice message to a member of the U.S. House in New Jersey, Capriotti stated that if some people “ they think Joe Biden will get his hands on the Bible and walk towards it [expletive] The White House on January 20, sadly [expletive] wrong “.
“It simply came to our notice then [expletive] The White House and we will kill anyone [expletive] Democrat stepping on him [expletive] lawn, ”the complaint reads.
According to the complaint, Capriotti left several “disturbing and anonymous messages” in the voice systems of several members of Congress between October 3, 2019 and January 29, 2020, and again from February to December. Authorities also believe he may have left similar messages of a different number between 2017 and 2019.
The alleged “messages, in almost all cases, included blasphemies, along with derogatory comments about race, religion, political affiliation, or the physical appearance of certain members and others,” the complaint states.
Officials said the FBI interviewed Capriotti in February 2020 and admitted to calling and leaving voice messages, but said it “didn’t mean any ill will.” He was told to stop making those calls, but Capriotti continued to leave these voice messages in the following months, according to the complaint.
In one of the messages he left in November, the caller referred to himself as “a nine-year-old active-duty sailor” and said he had “killed” several “terrorists” in previous wars and that ” it will continue to kill them because that is what I am trained to do. ” The complaint alleges that it also stated that “in the next two weeks, some big news is about to fall” and that some people “will be surprised at what will be revealed.”
“Our office takes the safety of our public officials very seriously,” prosecutor John Lausch said in a statement. “People who cross the line of free speech by making illegal threats will be held accountable.”
It was not immediately clear if Capriotti had a lawyer.
The announcement of the arrest comes less than a week after thousands of people broke into the U.S. Capitol in a violent and deadly riot. The FBI has warned of further concerns ahead of the opening day.