Chicago man arrested for allegedly threatening violence at Biden's inauguration

A Chicago man has been arrested after allegedly threatening violence at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced Tuesday that 45-year-old Louis Capriotti was arrested and is facing a federal charge of "transmitting a threat in interstate commerce."

Capriotti, officials said, allegedly left a voicemail for a U.S. House member on Dec. 29 saying that those who "think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that [expletive] White House" on Jan. 20 are "sadly [expletive] mistaken" and threatening, "We will surround the [expletive] White House and we will kill any [expletive] Democrat that steps on the [expletive] lawn."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Our office takes the security of our public servants very seriously," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch said. "Individuals who cross the line of free speech by making unlawful threats will be held accountable."

The news comes after last week's deadly pro-Trump riot at the Capitol building, which occurred as lawmakers met to certify Biden's win. The riot, The Wall Street Journal reports, has prompted officials to step up security for Biden's inauguration, and a House Democratic aide told the Journal there are plans for the "largest perimeter ever established around the Capitol" to be erected.

The arrest also comes as CBS News' Ben Tracy reports Capitol Police briefed lawmakers "on a plot by militia members to surround the White House to protect President Trump, kill Democrats at the Capitol, and surround the Supreme Court."