Arrest and Charges
Federal authorities arrested a 26-year-old Ohio man on Tuesday for allegedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump and behead a Republican lawmaker, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Alex Justin Miller of Columbus, Ohio, was charged with interstate transmission of a threat to injure.
The DOJ identified the targeted lawmaker as a U.S. congressman, and Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) later identified himself as the recipient of the threat. Fine said he received the email on August 18 and that the suspect was arrested within 36 hours.
According to the DOJ, the threatening message was sent from the email address "gamestormguy3l6@gmail.com" with the subject line "Can't wait to snipe your head off your shoulders!!:)". The content included vulgar and antisemitic language, including the phrase "DEATH TO [VICTIM I] AND DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP!!!".
The Threatening Email
The Jerusalem Post reported on the specific content of the email, quoting text in which the sender says: "I cannot wait to take a trip to your lovely home and light the whole place on fire and murder you and your entire family in the middle of the night while you sleep." The email also called Fine a "Nazi" and encouraged him to "sleep with one eye open," ending with "DEATH TO RANDY FINE AND DEATH TO DONALD TRUMP!!!".
The DOJ's statement described the threats as a "true threat" and noted that the email was dated August 18, the day of Fine's primary election. According to the criminal complaint, Fine and his family were in Florida at the time the threat was sent.
Legal Framework and Potential Penalty
Federal law prohibits threats to kill, kidnap, or harm the president, as well as threats against members of Congress and other protected officials. Prosecutors must prove that the defendant made a "true threat" rather than engaging in protected political speech. If convicted, Miller faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
Fine's Response
Fine expressed gratitude to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Middle Florida, the FBI, Capitol Police, and local law enforcement in a post on X/Twitter following Miller's arrest. He wrote: "If they think this will make me afraid, they are wrong," and "There is no place in our political system for this. And those who make these threats -- whether to a Republican or Democrat -- will go to prison for a very long time."
According to the Jerusalem Post, Fine is serving his first term in Congress and was endorsed by President Trump and AIPAC. Earlier in August, Fine defeated social media personality Dan Bilzerian in the GOP primary, a race in which Bilzerian invoked Hitler and referred to the district's "Jewish problem." The Associated Press called the race for Fine when Bilzerian had about 18% of the vote.