The US Secret Service arrested a 72-year-old man in New York on Monday after he allegedly phoned them threatening to kill ex-president Donald Trump, a criminal indictment showed.
Thomas Welnicki was formally arrested on Monday after investigations showed incriminating evidence against him. Welnicki had made several phone calls to the Secret Service over the past year threatening Trump with dire consequences if he failed to leave the White House, according to federal court documents.
According to the complaint, Melnick told US Capitol Police during an interrogation in July 2020 that if Trump “loses the 2020 election and refuses to step down” he would “acquire weapons and take him down.”
Melnick is also accused of having left two voicemail messages with the Secret Service’s office in Long Island, New York in January last year in which he “threatened to kill” Trump as well as 12 unnamed members of Congress.
“Oh yeah that’s a threat, come and arrest me. I will do anything I can to take out [Individual-1] and his 12 monkeys,” Melnick, who lives in Queens, is alleged to have said.
According to the complaint, in one voicemail left with the Secret Service, Welnicki said he would “do anything I can to take out” Trump.
“He repeatedly referred to Individual-1 as ‘Hitler’ and stated, ‘I will do everything I can to make sure [Individual-1] is dead,” reads the indictment.
Melnick was arraigned on the charges in a Brooklyn federal court via video conference later Monday and was to be released on payment of a $50,000 bond.
As part of his bail conditions, he was ordered to nightly house arrest and to be fitted with a GPS monitoring device. In addition, he was ordered to seek support for his mental health as well as to seek treatment for any addiction to alcohol or drugs, said a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office.
Thomas Welnicki was formally arrested on Monday after investigations showed incriminating evidence against him. Welnicki had made several phone calls to the Secret Service over the past year threatening Trump with dire consequences if he failed to leave the White House, according to federal court documents.
According to the complaint, Melnick told US Capitol Police during an interrogation in July 2020 that if Trump “loses the 2020 election and refuses to step down” he would “acquire weapons and take him down.”
Melnick is also accused of having left two voicemail messages with the Secret Service’s office in Long Island, New York in January last year in which he “threatened to kill” Trump as well as 12 unnamed members of Congress.
“Oh yeah that’s a threat, come and arrest me. I will do anything I can to take out [Individual-1] and his 12 monkeys,” Melnick, who lives in Queens, is alleged to have said.
According to the complaint, in one voicemail left with the Secret Service, Welnicki said he would “do anything I can to take out” Trump.
“He repeatedly referred to Individual-1 as ‘Hitler’ and stated, ‘I will do everything I can to make sure [Individual-1] is dead,” reads the indictment.
Melnick was arraigned on the charges in a Brooklyn federal court via video conference later Monday and was to be released on payment of a $50,000 bond.
As part of his bail conditions, he was ordered to nightly house arrest and to be fitted with a GPS monitoring device. In addition, he was ordered to seek support for his mental health as well as to seek treatment for any addiction to alcohol or drugs, said a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office.
