Trump Supporter Charged With Threatening to Kill Adam Schiff

A Connecticut man has been charged with threatening to kill House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff via the Democrat's website. Investigators say Robert Michael Phelps, 62, sent a meeting request to Schiff's office on Nov. 12, saying "I want to kill you with my bare hands and smash your sick little round fat lying face in," the Wall Street Journal reports. The FBI traced the message to Phelps, who "stated he was a Republican and needed to protect 'his president,'" according to a criminal complaint. The complaint states that Phelps admitted sending the message, but "did not see the message as threatening."

Schiff, who took a lead role in impeachment proceedings, was a frequent target of President Trump before, during, and after his impeachment. On the day Phelps is accused of sending the threat, Trump tweeted that Schiff was a "corrupt, compromised, coward & congenital liar." On Jan. 26, the president tweeted that Schiff "has not paid the price, yet, for what he has done to our Country!" Phelps, who was released on $25,000 bond after his arrest Friday, faces a charge of threatening to assault and murder a US official, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, and making interstate threats, which has a maximum sentence of 5 years, reports CNN. (More Adam Schiff stories.)