Washington state man indicted over threatening calls to members of Congress

Prosecutors have indicted a Washington man after he allegedly left a series of antisemitic, threatening voicemails for multiple members of Congress.

A newly unsealed indictment indicates prosecutors charged Mark Leonetti on seven counts of making interstate threats after he allegedly made more than 400 calls to lawmakers’ offices, the latest instance of increasing threats against lawmakers.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The alleged calls, which were first reported by Punchbowl News and made to undisclosed House and Senate lawmakers, repeatedly include derogatory remarks about Jews and at times threaten to kill the lawmakers.

“Jew mouth. Jew blood. We need to get you back to Israel so we can kill you there,” Leonetti allegedly said in one voicemail left for a senator on Oct. 26.

Over the course of three days in September, Leonetti left 32 voicemails for another senator, with some including threats, according to the indictment.

“Now even if you are delusional when we murder you, you don’t have to sober up to that,” he allegedly said in one voicemail. “We’re just gonna murder you here bitch. The barbecue. Go ahead.”

Federal law enforcement has warned of a rise in threats and violent extremism focused on political leaders. The attacks and threats have led to a renewed focus on security for lawmakers.

The Capitol Police’s Threat Assessment Team opened 9,625 cases in 2021, a sharp rise from the 8,613 cases in 2020 and lower levels in years past.

Authorities last month arrested a man for making threats against Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.).

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a member of the House Jan. 6 select committee, in July shared roughly a dozen vulgar and threatening calls to his congressional office. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said last year he received a voicemail that stated, “I hope you die.”

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) was attacked during a campaign event over the summer; the suspect in the attack has been charged with assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon.

And in one of the most high-profile attacks in recent months, an individual broke into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) San Francisco home and assaulted her husband, Paul Pelosi, leaving him with a skull fracture.

The suspected assailant was allegedly looking for the Speaker and threatened to break her kneecaps.