- The jury began weighing the case against Tyler Anderson, 30, on Tuesday
- A court filing said 'the government has learned that the defendant is deceased'
- When he was arrested, Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign said he was targeted
By Stephen M. Lepore For Dailymail.Com and Associated Press
Published: | Updated:
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23 View commentsA New Hampshire man charged with threatening the lives of presidential candidateswas mysteriously found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict.
The jury began weighing the case against Tyler Anderson, 30, of Dover on Tuesday after a trial that began Monday.
A court filing said 'the government has learned that the defendant is deceased.' Prosecutors have moved to dismiss the indictment.
While the U.S. Attorney´s office did not name the candidates, when Anderson was arrested, a spokesperson for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamysaid that texts were directed at his campaign.
Anderson had told the FBI in an interview that he sent similar texts to 'multiple other campaigns,' according to a court document.
Tyler Anderson (pictured), a New Hampshire man charged with threatening the lives of presidential candidates, was mysteriously found dead while a jury was deciding his verdict
Anderson was indicted by a federal grand jury in December on three counts of sending a threat using interstate commerce.
Each charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Police in Concord, New Hampshire, were asked to help search for Anderson after he failed to show up for court and eventually located a car in a garage at Concord Hospital at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Deputy Chief John Thomas.
Officers detected a strong chemical smell coming from the car and called in a hazmat team.
Anderson´s body was removed from the car and pronounced dead. There were no weapons found. Thomas said no foul play is suspected at this time.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment.
Anderson was arrested on December 9 and was released December 14.
A federal judge set forth several conditions for his release, including that he avoid contact with any presidential candidate and their political campaigns.
The U.S. Attorney´s office did not name the candidates. When Anderson was arrested, a spokesperson for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said that texts were directed at his campaign
Tyler Anderson, 30, sent two messages in response to a campaign text previewing Monday's stop in New Hampshire. He said the event was 'another opportunity for me to blow his brains out'
Anderson, who was receiving mental health treatment, was also ordered to take all of his prescribed medications.
After receiving a message from the biotech entrepreneur's campaign on December 8 promoting a Portsmouth, New Hampshire political campaign stop on December 11, Anderson leveled his threat over text message – and across state lines.
'Great, another opportunity for me to blow his brains out!' Anderson wrote, according to images of the text messages in charging documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Hampshire.
In a separate message to the campaign, he wrote: 'I'm going to kill everyone who attends and then f*** their corpses.'
They also found other texts Anderson sent to a different candidate, including similar threats to 'blow that b*****d's head off!'
Another message read: 'Thanks, I'll see you there. Hope you have the stamina for a mass shooting!'
The charges say similar texts were sent to two different candidates before the Ramaswamy messages, on November 22 and December 6.
A court document filed when Anderson was arrested included a screenshot of texts from December 6 threatening a mass shooting in response to an invitation to see a candidate 'who isn´t afraid to tell it like it is.'
Republican Chris Christie called his events 'Tell it Like It Is Town Halls.'
A spokesperson for the Christie campaign had thanked law enforcement officials for addressing those threats.
The U.S. Department of Justice doesn´t name victims out of respect for their privacy and our obligations under the Crime Victims Rights Act, a DOJ spokesperson said.
New HampshireVivek RamaswamyFBI
