A violent vow to ‘surround the White House’
South suburban man allegedly threatened inauguration violence
A south suburban man who authorities said has a history of threatening members of Congress was arrested Tuesday on federal charges alleging he promised violence at the upcoming presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.
“We will surround the m——f——— White House and we will kill any m——-f——— Democrat that steps on the m——-f——— lawn,” Louis Capriotti said in a Dec. 29 voicemail left for a U.S. House member from New Jersey, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.
Capriotti also said if people “think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that f——— White House on January 20th, they’re sadly f——— mistaken,” according to the complaint.
A similar threat was made concerning Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the charges alleged.
Capriotti, 45, of Chicago Heights, was charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, which carries a potential punishment of up to five years in prison.
He was arrested near his home Tuesday morning and appeared via telephone before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes, who ordered him held in custody pending a detention hearing Friday.
During the 30-minute hearing, Fuentes agreed with prosecutors that the crime Capriotti is charged with can be construed under the law as a crime of violence. Capriotti’s lawyer, Jack Corfman, had objected to that classification.
“This is a case where … there are allegedly repeated threats over an extended period of time that also are very, very specific … including not only to members of Congress but also the presidentelect now of the United States, as well as the vice president-elect,” Fuentes said.
Capriotti spoke only briefly during the hearing. During a short recess, he addressed Corfman, saying, “Hey Jack, you get a chance to call my mother?” Capriotti later tried to ask another
question, but his lawyer warned it would be better to talk later since they were on a public line.
The charges come less than a week after supporters of President Donald Trump violently stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from ratifying the electoral vote for President-elect Biden, leading to the deaths of a police officer and four others.
The FBI has since warned of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington, D.C., in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration, stoking fears of more bloodshed after last week’s deadly siege.
The 11-page criminal complaint alleged Capriotti has a history of leaving profane voicemails for members of Congress dating to at least 2017.
“Capriotti’s messages, in almost every instance, included profanity, along with derogatory remarks concerning the race, religion, political affiliation, or physical appearance of certain (Congress) members and others,” the FBI agent who signed the complaint affidavit stated. “Capriotti screamed while leaving the messages, spoke of ‘rais (ing) mother f——— hell’ and referred to certain members as ‘terrorists’ or ‘gun grabbing.’”
U.S. Capitol Police early last year asked the FBI for assistance in tracking down Capriotti. When agents interviewed him in February 2020 in the Chicago area, Capriotti acknowledged that he was the one who made the calls but explained he was “just f——— with them” and that he “didn’t mean any ill will,” the complaint alleged.
Agents warned him to stop making calls or he could be subjected to charges, the complaint stated.
Instead, the charges alleged, Capriotti escalated the threats in his messages to include direct threats of violence.
On Nov. 18, shortly after Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, Capriotti called a U.S. representative from Michigan, identified himself as a U.S. Marine veteran who had killed several terrorists in combat, and said he “will continue to kill them because that’s what I am trained to do,” the complaint stated.
“In the next couple weeks, some big news is about to go down,” Capriotti
said, adding that certain individuals “are going to be astonished of what’s going to be revealed,” the complaint stated.
Authorities have determined that Capriotti was never in the military, according to the complaint.
Two weeks later, as Trump continued to refuse to concede the election, Capriotti left a message for a Pennsylvania congressman referring to the official as a “terrorist” out to take guns away from citizens, according to the complaint. He ended the call by saying, “may (the representative) choke in hell.”
The Dec. 29 call to the New Jersey representative also included a threat to shoot a former governor of that state in the head, according to the complaint. The former governor was identified only as Individual A.
“I would like to put one right in (Individual A’s) (f———) dome,” Capriotti allegedly said.
Court records show Capriotti pleaded guilty in 2016 in Cook County criminal court to charges of making a telephone threat against a relative of someone who had obtained an order of protection against Capriotti. He was sentenced to two years’ probation, which he completed satisfactorily.
Capriotti was also charged in 2014 with violating that same order of protection, records show. He pleaded guilty and had to take domestic violence classes through the probation department.