Man arrested after leaving Scalise threatening voicemail

A man was arrested Thursday for allegedly leaving threatening voicemails for two members of Congress, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).

Sixty-three-year-old Carlos Bayon, who resides in New York, is charged with making threats across state lines.

Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House, was shot during the GOP’s congressional baseball practice last year and sustained near-fatal injuries.

“Whip Scalise is grateful to law enforcement for their actions. He will never forget how their heroism saved his life and those of his colleagues last year,” Scalise spokeswoman Lauren Fine told The Hill in a statement. “As he has said before, there is absolutely no place in our political discourse for violent threats.”

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Scalise and a second lawmaker from Washington state, who has not been identified, received the voicemails on June 30, 2018.

“Hey listen, this message is for you and the people that sent you there. You are taking ours, we are taking yours. Anytime, anywhere. We know where they are,” the voicemails said, according to Buffalo’s ABC affiliate WKBW. “We are not going to feed them sandwiches, we are going to feed them lead. Make no mistake you will pay. Ojo por ojo, diente por diente (Spanish for “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth). That is our law and we are the majority. Have a good day.”

If found guilty, Bayon could face up to five years in prison and a penalty as high as $250,000.