A man accused of threatening to “shoot up ‘terrorist’ Democrats at the Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C., has been ordered to stay behind bars without bail on federal charges. He allegedly left a message of a U.S. representative.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes deemed in necessary to determine Louis Capriotti was a danger to his community, rejecting the defense argument that the harm was minimized since there was no evidence presenting itself that Capriotti had no real plan to act on the intended threat.
“Threats hurt people,” Fuentes said at the end of a nearly 90-minute hearing. ““They terrorize people. They make people afraid. There’s an argument to be made that’s what they intended to do in the first place.”
Fuentes also mentioned that it was “very, very, concerning” that Capriotti continuously made telephonic threats of violence to members of Congress even after the FBI approached him over a year ago and he could face criminal charges.
Prosecutors played a part of the Dec. 29 call at the heart of the investigation during the court hearing, of him leaving a voicemail for U.S. representative from New Jersey.
“We will surround them m—–f——— White House and we will kill any m——f———- Democrat that steps on the m——f———— lawn,” a man believed to be Capriotti could be heard saying in a distinctly “south suburban Chicago accent.’” “If they think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that f—— White House on Jan 20, they’re sadly f—–mistaken.”
Similar threats were made to then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Jack Corfman, the lawyer of Capriotti, argued that home detention would be more sufficient to ensure the safety of the community, especially since Inauguration Day had passed and “went smoothly.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Dunn, argued, saying that Capriotti has a long history of ignoring court orders, including four misdemeanor convictions of violating orders of protection – and “needs nothing more than a phone” to continue his harassments.
Capriotti, 45, had been arrested near his home in Chicago Heights on Jan. 12., on charges of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, this charge carries up to 5 years in federal prison. Less than a week after Trump extremist violently stormed the U.S Capitol to stop Congress from ratifying the electoral vote for Biden, leading to the deaths of 5 people, including a police officer.
The 11-page criminal indictment, states Capriotti allegedly has a history of leaving profane voicemails for members of Congress dating back to 2017.
Capriotti is also accused of calling a U.S Representative from Michigan, just minutes after Biden was declared winner of the 2020 election on Nov. 18. He identified himself as a U.S. Marine Veteran, who had killed several terrorists in combat and said, “he will continue to kill them because that’s what I am trained to do,” the indictment stated.
Investigators determined the accounts of him being in the military, were indeed false, according to the indictment documents.
