Coon Rapids man indicted for threatening US senator

A Coon Rapids man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for threatening a U.S. senator.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 35-year-old Brendon Michael Daugherty left two voicemail messages on the phone of a senator from outside Minnesota.

In the first message, prosecutors say Daugherty said, “You and the Republican Party should be proud that you’re pushing me to become a domestic terrorist. Have a nice [expletive] day; can’t wait to kill ya.”

Then, he allegedly called back and said, “I also just wanted to note, thank god the Republican Party is against gun control laws because it would keep guns out of the hands of a person that was disabled and volatile like I am, but you guys are totally against that. So I may actually get to carry out my nefarious goals.”

Staff members for the senator reported the messages to U.S. Capitol police, and FBI special agents contacted Daugherty earlier this month at his home. In that conversation, the attorney’s office says Daugherty told agents he made the calls because the senator was “doing a bunch of stupid [expletive] with gun control” and he wants politicians to “feel a little bit pressured.”

He’s now charged with one count of threatening to murder a U.S. official and one count of interstate transmission of a threat.