Man arraigned for allegedly threatening to kill US vice president

An Ohio man faces charges over a Vance death threat as the Justice Department details arrest, court appearance and disturbing evidence

A federal grand jury has charged Shannon Mathre, a 33-year-old resident of Toledo, Ohio, with threatening to kill United States Vice President JD Vance during his visit to the state in January, the US Department of Justice announced on Friday.

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The department said Mathre is accused of “making a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon” the vice president, in what prosecutors described as a grave security concern.

According to the statement, Mathre allegedly said he was “going to find out where he is going to be and use my M14 automatic gun and kill him”. The Justice Department did not disclose where the comment was made.

United States Secret Service agents arrested Mathre on Friday following the investigation into the alleged Vance death threat.

While examining the suspect’s digital devices, investigators also discovered what the department described as “multiple digital files of child sexual abuse materials” in his possession.

Mathre made his initial court appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Ohio on Friday. The court ordered that he remain in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for February 11.

The development marks the latest reported security incident involving Vice President Vance.

Earlier in January, Vance disclosed that an individual he described as “a crazy person” had attempted to break into his Ohio residence by hammering on the windows.

The vice president and his family were not at home at the time, and a 26-year-old man was later taken into custody, according to US media reports.

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Authorities have not indicated whether the two incidents are connected.

Quadri Olaitan