- A Washington man is accused of sending several threatening voicemails to Sen. Ted Cruz, per The Daily Beast.
- In one message, Eric Kikkert said: "I'm gonna blow your brains out."
- Kikkert, a convicted felon, was reportedly arrested by federal authorities.
A man who threatened to shoot Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with "an assault rifle" was arrested and charged by federal authorities in Washington state, the Daily Beast reported.
The man, identified as Eric Kikkert of Kent, Washington, is accused of calling the senator's office last month, on March 21, saying, "answer my questions by giving me a call or at the end of my rifle," according to court documents obtained by the outlet.
On March 22, an unidentified person showed US Capitol Police a text message from Kikkert in which he said that the senator should call him "or ill end up in his fucking face with an assault rifle," according to the criminal complaint.
Attached to the text message was a photo of Kikkert, which is included in the document, from when he served in the military. His mother told an agent that he "suffers from mental illness" and that she has not seen him act violent, per the complaint. The complaint notes that Kikkert is also a felon who is not allowed to have firearms.
The same day, Kikkert also allegedly left multiple voicemails to Sen. Cruz's office making extreme threats, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Kikkert, said: "That's a fucking vaccine. And if you don't fucking talk to me about it. If you don't advocate for it, I'm gonna blow your brains out" adding, "I'm willing to put a gun in your face. You better fucking think about it."
The court documents alleged that at one point during his rant he reached a live person at the office, saying that he was "one step away from getting an assault rifle and pointing it at the Senator."
In addition to the threats, officials were accused of telling an agent that he wanted to start a militia, and sending "nonsensical" emails to US Capitol Police, and making social media posts asking for weapons, including an AR-15.