DOJ Charges Suspect With Sending Death Threat To Benny Johnson
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges on Friday against a man accused of sending a threatening letter to Florida-based conservative media influencer Benny Johnson.
George Isabel was arrested Tuesday for allegedly sending the letter to Johnson’s home around Sept. 18, eight days after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Utah, according to remarks from Attorney General Pam Bondi and a DOJ statement. Isabel is charged with mailing threatening communications and could see up to five years in prison if convicted, the DOJ said.
“The author of this letter made it very clear that he hated Benny because of his views and he wanted Benny dead,” Bondi told reporters. Johnson swiftly called her shortly after receiving the letter, sparking a federal investigation, the attorney general said. Law enforcement traced the letter’s origin to San Diego, California, and identified Isabel as the sender based on fingerprints left on it, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe.
It was not immediately clear if Isabel had an attorney.
The letter referenced Kirk’s shooting death at Utah Valley University (UVU) during a TPUSA event, the DOJ’s statement said.
“After writing that he hoped that the American flag ‘strangles the life out of you,’ the letter went on to state: ‘Maybe someone will blow your head off!!!’” the DOJ said.
“We can hope! Planning any public engagements? Love to see your head explode and your blood stain the concrete red. What a sight!” the letter allegedly said.
Bondi and Johnson each took to the podium at the press conference to decry rising political violence, highlighting the arrest of left-leaning suspect Tyler Robinson in Kirk’s murder. The letter to Johnson derided him as a “cis,” white, Christian Trump supporter, Johnson said.
“This was a left-wing radical, absolutely,” Bondi told the press, comparing the suspect to Robinson.
“This guy thought he got away with this, and he thought he could hurt Benny and his family, and it’s not going to happen,” Bondi said. She mentioned that the government has “other open cases” of a similar nature.
AUTHOR
Hudson Crozier
DCNF Crime and Extremism Reporter
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