An Oklahoma man has been charged with threatening to kill U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his family, according to court documents obtained on Wednesday.
Charles Jason Moreland, 31, of Tulsa, is suspected of sending profanity-laced e-mail messages in April directed at the veteran Democratic senator from Nevada that said if Reid "ever steps out foot out of D.C., he will be done. You're a dead ... man Harry Reid," according to the documents.
A lawyer for Moreland was not immediately available for comment. Reid's office was also not available for comment.
Moreland was arrested on July 31 and the court documents had been under seal until this week. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
In messages sent to Reid's congressional website, Moreland said he thought Reid had committed fraud and treason against him, according to an affidavit by U.S. investigators presented to the federal court in Tulsa.
The U.S. Secret Service conducted a threat assessment of Moreland after he allegedly sent an e-mail to the White House in September 2013 threatening to kill people if the monitoring of his Internet and cell phone did not stop, the affidavit said.
Moreland has been charged with trying to intimidate a federal official and the official's family. He also faces one charge of using interstate communications to issue threats.
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