A 38-year-old military veteran from New Jersey has been arrested after threatening to kill GOP Rep. Frank LoBiondo and his staff in a “blood bath.”
New Jersey state troopers arrested veteran Joseph Brodie, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, on Sept. 20 for weapons charges after police were informed Brodie might be suicidal, Courier-Post reports.
The police conducted a wellness check on his trailer at which point Brodie attempted to hide and escape his residence with a rifle. Police told Brodie to drop his weapon, but Brodie first put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The firearm wasn’t loaded. There were three rifles and two handguns in his home in total.
Initially, Brodie was only charged with a weapons offense, but after the police obtained more information from a friend of Brodie’s who said he was exhibiting strange and erratic behavior, authorities believe Brodie had promised to kill any police officers who came on to his property, in addition to GOP Rep. Frank LoBiondo and all his staff in a “blood bath.” Brodie allegedly made these particular threats on Sept. 15 and 19. In one of those threats, he referred to LoBiondo’s spokesman, Jason Galanes, as a “dead man.” He later followed up via email with information about LoBiondo’s office obtained through Google Earth.
“It even shows the environment and surrounding terrain, parking lots, wooded areas, etc., (like the kind a highly trained Combat Infantryman would use),” Brodie’s email to LoBiondo’s office said.
Brodie was also charged Friday with threatening to assault a U.S. official.
The veteran was allegedly upset and felt that he was wrongly treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs and LoBiondo’s staff.
Brodie faces a sentence of up to six years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
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