Raymond Chandler III, a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate charged earlier this week with threatening federal officials over violent voicemails, was arrested Friday, the FBI said. The charges relate to threats against officials and their families, including urging a lawmaker to assassinate President Donald Trump. A federal custody hearing is set for May 8.
Raymond Chandler III, who is mounting a long-shot challenge to Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and describes himself as a Quaker-Buddhist advocating empathy and wealth redistribution, was arrested Friday following his federal charges announced days earlier. The charges stem from disturbing voicemails left for a federal lawmaker (initially reported as a congressman), in which Chandler urged the official to "take a firearm... walk into the Oval Office... put that firearm to the President’s head, and... pull the trigger and... kill him." He labeled Trump "awful," "a liar among all liars," and the "antichrist."
Chandler also invoked wealth inequality, warning of violent backlash: "They pull you out of your house and they slit your throat and they slit your daughter’s throat... The greed has gotten so bad... You will not escape their wrath. We must redistribute the wealth."
Chandler has a history of inflammatory rhetoric, including calls for armed resistance against ICE and expressing willingness to "personally kill." His lawyer declined comment. The May 8 hearing in the Western District of Pennsylvania will decide on federal custody.
The arrest comes amid recent assassination attempts on Trump, including one tied to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
