MIAMI — Federal authorities have arrested a South Florida man and accused him of calling the offices of three Democratic members of Congress and leaving threatening, racist and homophobic messages.
John Kless, 49, has been charged with making threatening communications after U.S. Capitol Police say he called up U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Eric Swalwell Tuesday and unleashed foul, profanity-laced rants onto their office voicemails.
Kless, according to a criminal complaint, warned Swalwell, a California congressman who is running for a president on a gun safety platform, that he’d be dead before Americans would lose their guns.
“The day you come after our guns, mother—er, is the day you’ll be dead,” Kless said, according to the complaint. “Along with everybody in the f—ing government.”
Kless also used a racial slur to refer to Booker, an African American senator from New Jersey. And he referred to Tlaib, a Muslim congresswoman from Michigan, as a member of the Taliban.
While leaving a voicemail for Tlaib, police say Kless also made apparent reference to U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Democrat from Minnesota who has been the subject of numerous threats since her swearing-in this January. Kless allegedly said he’d like to throw Omar off the Empire State building.
Police say they were highly alarmed due to the fact that Tlaib is scheduled to visit Florida Saturday.
They say Kless made the phone calls from his own number. A number listed in the complaint went straight to a voicemail recorded by a man who identified himself as John. The account is registered to a Kim Kless, from Tamarac.
It wasn’t immediately clear from court documents whether Kless has retained an attorney. The Miami Herald was not immediately able to reach Kless or anyone who could speak on his behalf.
According to Capitol Police, Kless had been investigated in February after leaving threatening messages for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Kless’ arrest comes six months after the FBI arrested South Florida man Cesar Sayoc and charged him with sending pipe bombs through the postal service to leading Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump.
Sayoc pleaded guilty last month.
