A federal grand jury has indicted a 33-year-old Ohio man over an alleged threat to assassinate US Vice President JD Vance during a visit to the state earlier this year, the Justice Department announced on Friday.
The suspect, Shannon Mathre of Toledo, is accused of issuing a direct threat to kill and seriously harm the vice president, according to court filings released by the department.
Prosecutors said Mathre claimed he intended to locate the vice president and carry out the attack using an M14 automatic rifle. Authorities did not disclose where or how the threat was communicated.
Mathre was arrested on Friday by agents of the US Secret Service.
The case adds to a series of recent security concerns involving Vice President Vance. In early January, Vance revealed that an individual had attempted to force entry into his Ohio residence by striking the windows with a hammer. Neither Vance nor his family was at home at the time, and a 26-year-old suspect was later detained, US media reported.
In a separate development, the Justice Department said investigators uncovered multiple digital files containing child sexual abuse material in Mathre’s possession while probing the alleged threat.
Mathre appeared in court on Friday before a US Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Ohio. He remains in custody and is scheduled for a detention hearing on February 11.