US Man Threatens To Kill Vivek Ramaswamy And His Supporters At Campaign Event, Arrested

A man who sent text messages threatening to kill US Republican Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and attendees at a campaign event was arrested on Monday (11 December).

After receiving a text message from Ramaswamy’s campaign notifying him of a political event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 30-year-old Tyler Anderson responded on 8 December with two messages.

"Great, another opportunity for me to blow his [Ramaswamy's] brains out!" he said in the first message.

"I’m going to kill everyone who attends and then f--- their corpses," he added in the second message, according to the Justice Department.

The charge against Anderson comes with the possibility of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. 

An FBI affidavit revealed that Mr Ramaswamy's campaign acted quickly, promptly informing the police about the concerning messages received in response to their voter notification. 

The campaign also provided crucial information linking the threatening phone number to Anderson. This information, combined with additional data accessible to law enforcement, confirmed Anderson's identity, leading to his arrest.

Ramaswamy thanked the law enforcement for "responding as rapidly and as effectively as they did".

"I'm grateful for the team that's around us and they've been doing a great job in making sure that I'm kept safe," he added, as he pointed to his security team.

"Between retired police officers and ex-military and otherwise, I feel very secure in the position we're in," Ramaswamy said.