WASHINGTON — A Virginia man is facing criminal charges for allegedly threatening to kill a federal employee identified by Fox News as Richard Grenell, interim president of the Kennedy Center and special envoy to President Donald Trump.
Scott Allen Bolger, 33, was charged with communicating threats in interstate commerce and making false statements, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a news release Tuesday.
The message does not indicate that Grenell is the target of the threat, but Fox News reports this. that the Justice Department said Grenell had been targeted. Tuesday evening send a message to XGrenell shared a Fox News story that named him as the recipient of the threat.
“I am grateful to Pam Bondi, Kash Patel and Lindsey Halligan for finding this deranged man and locking him up,” he wrote in the post.
Bolger “allegedly used Google Voice, which allows a user to send text messages to other people using a phone number other than the user's primary phone number, to send a message to a federal employee,” the Justice Department said in a press release, citing court documents. “In the message, Bolger allegedly threatened to kill the employee.”
court document, which also did not mention Grenell's name, said a federal employee received a text message that said, “Go out on U Street and get shot between the eyes, loyalist pigskin pussy.”
The incident allegedly occurred Dec. 23, and on Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick ordered Bolger held without bail pending trial, according to court records.
U Street is a popular nightlife area in Washington, DC.
Bolger allegedly falsely identified himself to federal law enforcement officials when they went to his home to question him, the Justice Department said. Bolger ultimately faces up to five years in prison, according to the report.
NBC News has reached out to the Justice Department and the Kennedy Center for comment. Todd Richman, Bolger's public defender, declined to comment.
U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who is serving the district where the case is prosecuted, said in a statement that “those who target federal employees should know that we will investigate and prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
The alleged threat comes amid growing concerns about political violence following the killings of Charlie Kirk and former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. Scores of Indiana Republicans faced threats and punching incidents during the redistricting battle this fall, and Trump faced two assassination attempts last year.
