A father and son have been arrested and charged with conspiring to threaten a U.S. official after they allegedly sent a letter to Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) threatening to kill him over his vote for the health care bill.
Russell Hesch, 73, and David Hesch, 50, were charged with conspiracy to threaten to assault, kidnap or murder a U.S. official. They face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In the most explicit threat from the letter, the author threatens to “paint the Mackinaw [sic] Bridge with the blood of you and your family members. … Maybe you will be the main character of a story that parents tell their children as they cross the bridge decades from know [sic]. The red paint of Bart Stupak!”
Read the whole letter here.
Stupak voted for the health care reform bill after President Obama agreed to sign an executive order declaring that the bill wouldn’t allow taxpayer money to fund abortions. The move lead to other threats against Stupak. He announced in April that he will not seek re-election.
Investigators say that Russell Hesch, who Stupak’s office said has been one of the congressman’s most vocal critics over the years, typed the threatening letter to Stupak. Hesch, who lives in Michigan, then allegedly emailed it to his son, David, in Denver. According to the criminal complaint (PDF), Hesch admitted to writing the letter and told investigators he sent the letter to his son so it couldn’t be traced back to him.
From the complaint: “Russell Hesch told agents of the FBI that his biggest mistakes were writing the letter, emailing it to his son David in Colorado, and asking David to mail the letter.”
The letter, which was sent in May and addressed to the “Stupak family,” includes several threats.
“Actions and decisions carry consequences. Are you and your family prepared for those consequences? Is your wife, Laurie Ann, prepared for those consequences? Is your son Ken and his family prepared for those consequences?” it reads in part.
“Without going into great detail and potentially spoiling the surprise of your fate I wonder if you have ever watched the Showtime Series Dexter?” the letter reads, a reference to a TV show about a serial killer. “I have been a faithful fan since its inception. I believe that this show stirs a primeval emotion that is within us all just waiting to be explored.”
Toward the end, the letter, signed “The Devil within Us,” says this fate can be avoided if Stupak resigns immediately and admits that his health care vote “was wrong and under handed,” or if he follows “in the footsteps” of his late son, Bart Stupak Jr., who committed suicide in 2000.
The author of the letter says he’s willing to die in “pursuit of our freedom.” The letter also claims that Stupak “defecated on the very words of our Constitution.”
Russell Hesch has met Stupak at community events, according to the complaint, but Stupak’s office said the encounters were always civil.
His lawyer, Robert Dunn, told the Detroit Free Press that he hadn’t seen the written confession the FBI says Hesch signed.
