A Winchester man found out the hard way that making threats online will lead to criminal prosecution especially when you are targeting the president or vice president of the United States.
Frank Lucio Carillo, 66, was arrested at his home last week after making thousands of posts in online forums threatening President Joe Biden, Vice President and Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris, FBI Director Christopher Wray and other public officials.
Carillo made his initial court appearance this morning in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
Carillo is charged in a federal criminal complaint with one count of making threats against the Vice President of the United States. Court documents show the offense leading to the federal charge occurred around July 27.
Among the posts, he said he “would light Harris on fire” and “personally pluck out her eyes.”
According to investigators, he said of Harris: “I will cut your eyes out of your F***ING head” and “will make sure you suffer a slow agonizing death.”
In another post, he allegedly said he would “personally” set Harris on fire “if no one else does.”
In a third post, Carillo allegedly said Harris is “going to regret ever trying to become president because if that ever happened I will personally pluck out her eyes with a pair of pliers but first I will shoot and kill everyone that gets in my way that is a f***ing promise.”
A July 27 post allegedly said “Crapler Harris is laying thieving piece of garbage like the rest of this administration they all need to die and they will soon.”
Harris was mentioned 19 times by Carillo online including numerous threats of violence. Biden announced July 21 that he would not be seeking an additional term for president.
“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia. “However, when those disagreements cross the line to threats of violence, law enforcement must step in.”
According to court documents, the investigation began with the FBI’s Phoenix office after the Maricopa County, Ariz., recorder’s office notified them of potential threats being made on the social media platform GETTR by a user with the name “joemadarats1.”
The FBI traced the username and posts to Carillo and discovered approximately 4,359 posts and replies made by Carillo targeting various public officials.
In a February post, “joemadarats1” said he had his “AR-15 locked and loaded.”
On Friday, authorities with the FBI Richmond office executed a search warrant at Carillo’s home and seized a 9 mm pistol, an AR-15 rifle and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The FBI in both Richmond and Phoenix, Ariz., and the United States Secret Service are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Welsh is prosecuting the case.
“The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people,” said Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI’s Richmond division. “We take all threats of violence seriously, and we will investigate them to the fullest and hold those responsible accountable.”
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Crystal Graham
