Authorities filed criminal charges against a Texas man whom they allege sent a pair of violent threats to state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate.
Billy James McFatridge of Fort Worth is charged with making a terroristic threat against a public servant, CBS Austin reports, citing arrest records. If found guilty of the Class A misdemeanor, he faces up to a year in prison and a $4,000 fine.
Investigators said McFatridge sent two messages to the Talarico campaign’s email account and Instagram in early August, including a threat to slit the Texas House member’s throat and drag his body through the streets.
After Talarico’s chief of staff notified the Texas Department of Public Safety about the threats on Aug. 12, state investigators used information from Google and Meta to track the accounts back to McFatridge, according to the TV station. They interviewed him days later at his place of employment.
The suspect admitted sending the messages, according to records cited by CBS Austin. However, he said he “just wanted to scare” Talarico and never intended to physically arm anyone.
McFatridge told DPS he had access to firearms, including a pistol, a rifle and a shotgun, the station reports.
In 2018, McFatridge was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after Fort Worth police probed allegations that he stabbed his mother with what an affidavit called a “long stick with a blade at the end of it,” according to CBS Austin. Five years later, he was reportedly investigated over accusations he sent a threatening message to a former supervisor.
DPS requested that if McFatridge is released from jail, he should be subject to GPS monitoring, a mental health evaluation and a ban on having access to firearms, the station reports. The agency also seeks a ban on contacting Talarico and his team or going near the Texas Capitol.
Darryl Paulson, emeritus professor of government at the University of South Florida, told CBS Austin that threats against political figures are escalating. and have been for a while.
“Really, the time to stop any political violence in the United States was yesterday,” Paulson said. “It’s not tomorrow. It was months ago, years ago.”
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