Ohio man accused of threatening to kill JD Vance

A federal grand jury on Friday indicted a 33-year-old man for threatening to kill Vice President J.D. Vance during a January visit to Ohio, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported.

Shannon Mathre, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, was charged with "making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm" on the vice president, according to a DOJ statement. According to the statement, Mathre claimed he was "going to find out where (the vice president) is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him." The statement did not specify in what context he made that comment.

Secret Service agents arrested Mathre on Friday.

"Our attorneys are vigorously prosecuting this disgusting threat against Vice President Vance," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "You can hide behind a screen, but you cannot hide from this Department of Justice," she specified.

The DOJ noted Friday that, during the investigation into the alleged threat against Vance, it found in Mathre's possession multiple digital files containing child sexual abuse material.

"While arresting this man for allegedly threatening to murder the Vice President of the United States, a serious crime in and of itself, federal law enforcement discovered that he was also in possession of child sexual abuse materials," Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

Mathre made his first appearance Friday before a federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of Ohio and remains in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Feb. 11, the Justice Department said.

If convicted of the charges against him, Mathre faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000 for threatening to kill the vice president. Mathre also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000 if convicted of the Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) charge.

The threat is the most recent incident involving Vance. In early January, Vance said that "a crazy person" had tried to break into his Ohio home by banging on the windows. The vice president and his family were not home at the time, and a 26-year-old man was arrested.