A California man is facing federal charges in connection with threatens made to Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., a frequent critic of President Donald Trump.
According to the criminal complaint viewed by Newsmax, Geoffrey Chad Giglio left an expletive-laden voicemail at Swalwell's district office in Castro Valley, California, on March 27, followed by another call to the office June 13 in which the caller told a staff intern: "Tell Eric Swalwell that we are coming and that we are going to handle everyone. We are going to hurt everyone. We are coming to hurt them. Goodbye."
Giglio is facing three felony charges: influencing a federal official by threat, interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure, and anonymous telecommunications harassment.
If convicted on all charges, he faces a possible maximum sentence of 17 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.
His initial court appearance has been set for July 29 at U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. An attorney has yet to be assigned, a spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian of the Northern District told Newsmax.
In the March 27 call, Giglio allegedly said: "If you keep fighting, and you manage to use what you do and manipulate, then we will come get you. There will be the war that you want. We will never let you go back. So, I'm fine with anything at this point. I'm tired of it. I'll just set up behind my .308, and I'll do my job."
Court records stated that the California Department of Justice database showed Giglio owned many registered guns, including at least one .308-caliber rifle.
The March 27 call was made a day after Giglio allegedly left an expletive-laden voicemail with Democrat Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in which he said, in part, "Tell the [expletive], Daddy's coming, and we're going to [expletive] put her in a [expletive] hole."
Newsmax has reached out to Benson's office for comment.
The criminal complaint referenced a Sept. 19, 2024, Reuters report titled "Trump fan targets MAGA foes with menace – and gets away with it" that featured Giglio.
It alleged that Giglio, enraged by the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, lashed out in a series of threatening messages to then-President Joe Biden, Colorado state Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Democrat who was critical of Trump after the shooting, and Sen. Corey Booker, D-N.J.
Reuters reported that Giglio said over a series of interviews that he wants to intimidate Trump's antagonists, so they believe that "maybe there is somebody out there crazy enough to come after us." But he insisted to Reuters that his language fell within First Amendment protections.
"I push the envelope," Giglio told Reuters, adding that he would never hurt anyone. "If I have to go to jail because somebody thinks I'm really a threat, oh well, so be it."
Reuters tried to tie Giglio's actions to Trump's rhetoric during the 2024 campaign, but Trump's campaign said it had no connection to Giglio and that it was unfair to link his hostile messages with Trump.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump's campaign at the time, told Reuters that Trump was particularly sensitive to threats as someone was killed in the assassination attempt.
"Of course, he condemns political violence and hatred in all forms," she said.
Newsmax has also reached out to Swalwell for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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