- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 13, 2014

An Oklahoma man who used the monicker “Thomas Payne” was charged with sending death threats to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his family, just-unsealed court documents showed.

Charles Jason Moreland is alleged to have made several threats against Mr. Reid and his family in mid-April via messages to the Democrat’s official website, Politico reported.

Among the messages: Mr. Moreland allegedly called Mr. Reid a “dead man” and vowed that he was “done” if he stepped foot outside Washington, Politico said.

He also allegedly wrote: “Don’t discount this message … Harry Reid needs to resign immediately or face stern, harsh, unimaginable consequences to him and his family. If he opens his mouth again, we will take action against him and his family immediately.”

Federal investigators were able to trace the messages — posted under the name of Thomas Payne — back to Mr. Moreland, court documents revealed.

He’s been indicted on one count of threatening to murder a federal official, one count of threatening Mr. Reid’s family and one count of making threats across state lines, The Associated Press reported.

The court documents detailing the complaint against Mr. Moreland was filed in late July, but just unsealed by a judge’s order.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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