Kansas Man Charged With Threats Against Biden

Accused was 'coming for' president, authorities say
By Stephanie Mojica,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2022 2:20 PM CST
Kansas Man Accused of Threatening Biden
President Biden was the recent target of a Kansas man's threats, federal court records allege.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

A Kansas man has been accused of threatening to visit the White House to kill President Biden, reports the Daily Beast. Scott Ryan Merryman is charged with interstate communication containing a threat to harm and threats against the president of the United States, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Secret Service with the US District Court of Maryland. Merryman allegedly said God wanted him to “lop off the head of the serpent in the heart of the nation,” the Washington Post reports. On Tuesday, the suspect told police in Independence, Kansas, that he was going to visit the president, per NBC 41. The suspect then called the White House on Thursday and allegedly made overt threats against Biden.

Merryman’s age is unknown, but he has claimed on social media to be a US Army veteran and to have recently worked in construction. His Facebook profile includes “increasingly threatening verbiage” against Biden, according to court records. He repeatedly refers to the president as the “anti-Christ” and urges people to call the White House “to let them know we’re coming to kill them,” according to court records. While many of his posts have been deleted, the Secret Service captured screenshots of Merryman’s alleged plans to “jump a fence” and kill Biden.

The day before Merryman allegedly called the White House, he agreed to meet with Secret Service agents in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Maryland, court records show. He agreed to be searched and surrendered three rounds of ammunition, though he claimed he did not have a weapon, according to court records. While the Secret Service has petitioned for Merryman’s arrest in connection with Thursday’s alleged phone call, it was not clear as of Saturday whether he had been apprehended. If convicted, Merryman faces up to five years in prison. (More Secret Service stories.)

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