FBI agents found multiple guns and rounds of ammunition in the “back room” of the home of a man who pleaded guilty on Tuesday to threatening Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as well as their supporters, the DOJ said.
Prosecutors said in a statement that law enforcement found a “U.S. Military outpost bunker” in the home of James Dale Reed of Frederick, Maryland.
Agents sought and obtained an “Extreme Risk Protective Order” after interviewing Reed in October. That interview was prompted by a letter that Reed purportedly left at the doorstep of a neighbor with yard signs supporting Biden and Harris.
Reed’s letter purportedly read: “if you are a Biden/Harris supporter you will be targeted. We have a list of homes and addresses by your election signs. We are the ones with those scary guns. We are the ones your children have nightmares about…”
After entering Reed’s home, the statement says, law enforcement officials seized “a Smith & Wesson 9VE handgun; a JC Higgins 20-12 Gauge rifle; a .223 caliber Bushmaster XM15-E25; a Hi Point 995 handgun; and approximately eight ammunition cans with 5.56 and 9mm ammunition and AR-15 carbine magazines.”
Reed also had “two grenades without blast caps,” and a “military-style ‘go-bag.'”
In the letter, a photo of which is included in a charging document, Reed also threatened Biden and Harris directly.
“Now as for Grandpa Biden and Mrs. Harris, when we capture Grandpa Biden we will severely beat him to the point of death,” the letter reads, before going on to describe a graphic threat to Harris.
“Then every Biden/Harris supporter will understand what the 2nd amendment is all about,” the letter reads, included in a sworn statement from a Secret Service agent investigating the case.
Reed deposited the letter on Oct. 4, 2020, prosecutors said, after which Frederick City Police Department officials were notified. They then tipped off the Secret Service.
Reed was charged with making threats on Oct. 21, 2020.
A Ring home security camera took a video of Reed as he deposited the letter on his neighbor’s yard.
At an initial Oct. 13 interview with federal investigators, Reed denied writing the letter, an affidavit attached to a criminal complaint says. During a follow-up interview on Oct. 15, he admitted to writing it, prosecutors said.
During the search of Reed’s home, agents also found “U.S. Army paraphernalia, including many pairs of military-issue uniforms, helmets, plate carriers, and bags/packs.”
Reed agreed, as part of the plea deal, to give up the firearms and ammunition, prosecutors said. He is set for a sentencing hearing on July 27, and faces a maximum of five years in prison.
