A Pennsylvania man was arrested and charged this week after he allegedly threatened to kill Gov. Tom Wolf and his family over a late unemployment check, the Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday.
Brian Rafferty, 61, of Feasterville, was charged with terroristic threats and harassment.
Mr. Rafferty called the governor’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, office Monday because he was upset that he had not received his unemployment check and the state’s unemployment office had not returned his calls, according to court documents.
During the call, he became angry and cursing, according to court documents. That’s when he allegedly threatened to kill the governor’s family, prosecutors said.
“I live right down the street from the governor’s daughter and granddaughter, and they’re dead, you hear me. They’re dead,” a probable cause affidavit quotes Mr. Rafferty as saying.
He had also threatened to kill the governor, according to the criminal complaint.
Upon his arrest Monday, Mr. Rafferty allegedly admitted to state police he made the threats “due to his frustration” over the late unemployment check, according to the criminal complaint.
He said he decided to contact the governor’s office after his attempts to talk to someone at the unemployment office were unsuccessful, prosecutors said.
Since the coronavirus crisis hit last month, American workers have filed more than 25 million initial jobless claims since March 14 and more than 700,000 jobs were lost in March.
It is not immediately clear if Mr. Rafferty lost his job because of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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