A man from Pennsylvania has been taken into custody and federally charged after the Federal Bureau of Investigation said he made several graphic death threats against President Donald Trump, a member of Congress, and the member’s daughter between the dates of April 2025 and January 2026. The suspect recently declared he was running for a U.S. Senate seat in the 2028 cycle as a Democrat.
Information contained in a criminal complaint filed by the FBI in the Western District of Pennsylvania, revealed that Raymond Chandler III has been charged with influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official by threatening a family member and by threatening a federal official and influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official by threat.
The arrest affidavit reveals that Chandler left his first voicemail for the as of now unnamed member of Congress on April 18, 2025. “Sir, I have, uh, I’m calling this morning ’cause I want you to imagine a scenario. I want you to imagine a scenario where all the 1,200 billionaires in this country, all their properties are surrounded simultaneously by a thousand people,” a voicemail allegedly left by Chandler started off.
“So imagine your house, your daughter’s house, everyone you know and love who is also rich. Imagine every single one of those homes being surrounded by a thousand people,” the message said. “Then imagine them all getting a text and then, then suddenly taking out their pocket knives, walking slowly towards your house with 10, you got your 10 guards or whatever against a thousand people, and then they come and they pull you out of your house and they slit your throat and they slit your daughter’s throat and they slit everyone’s throat.”
“That you know, sir, that is the future. It’s not a future I want, it’s not a future I’m advocating for, but wealth concentration has gotten so bad in this country. The greed has gotten so bad. People are suffering so much, sir, that that is what is in our future. You will not escape their wrath. We must redistribute the wealth away from people like you,” it concluded, according to a report from Fox News.
Chandler has not been shy about his avid support for socialist policies. On his official campaign website, the phrase, “Tax the Billionaires” sits at the top of a list of 16 priorities that he would tackle if elected to the Senate. Some other policies he advocates for is abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and establishing a universal basic income. His goal was to unseat Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).
The affidavit also mentioned another message, this one from April 29, 2025, where Chandler called the member of Congress again, this time directing him to kill President Trump. “You’ve probably getting quite used to my voice. Sir, I’m calling this evening because what I want you to do is I want you to take a firearm. I want you to put it in your hand. I want you to walk into the Oval Office. I want you to put that firearm to the President’s head, and I want you to pull the trigger and I want you to kill him,” the voicemail said.
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“I am petitioning you, Senator for redress of grievances. My redress of grievances is that this president is awful . . . He’s a liar among all liars. He’s a great deceiver. He’s the antichrist. I want you to walk into the Oval Office with a gun in your hand. I want you to put it to his temple, and I want you to pull the trigger,” Chandler told the Congress member.
“That is what I want you to do as my agent. That’s what I want you to do as my elected official. That’s what I am petitioning you to do with my free speech,” the message said. “I want you to kill the President. I want you to assassinate the President. That’s what I want you to do. Now, Senator, are you gonna come after me? Are you going to try me because of my voice and what I said?”
Chandler was arrested on May 1, 2026, less than a week after Cole Allen attempted to rush the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel and assassinate the president and other high-profile members of his cabinet. The event transpired during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Allen was the third individual since 2024 to make an assassination attempt on Trump.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video