- FBI agents arrested Brendan Hunt, a 37-year-old assistant court analyst of
Queens , on Monday. - Hunt used Facebook,
Parler , and a personal website to promote extremist rants, which included threats to Biden's inauguration. - A federal magistrate judge denied Hunt bail on Tuesday due to the "seriousness of danger to the community."
A federal magistrate judge denied bail to a New York man accused of threatening to kill Rep.
On Monday, FBI agents arrested Brendan Hunt, a 37-year-old assistant court analyst from Ridgewood, Queens, in his home and charged him with making threats against elected officials, according to documents seen by the Daily Beast. According to a criminal complaint seen by NBC News., Hunt called for "the public execution" of Congressional Democrats on his Facebook page.
"Trump, we want actual revenge on Democrats. Meaning, we want you to hold a public execution of Pelosi, AOC, Schumer, etc. And if you don't do it, the citizenry will. We're not voting in another rigged election," Hunt wrote on Facebook in December under an alias. "Start up the firing squads, mow down these commies, and let's take America back!"
Hunt reportedly also used a personal website, as well as conservative social media app Parler and video-sharing site BitChute to promote his extremist views, which included threats to bring guns to Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration. Prosecutors said his rants prompted an investigation by federal authorities.
Following the Capitol insurrection, Hunt posted a video of himself on BitChute in which he urged his followers to "kill your senators," according to NBC News. In the video, Hunt reportedly said, "they're going to come after us, they're gonna kill us, so we have to kill them first...so get your guns, show up to DC….if anybody has a gun, give me it, I'll go there myself and shoot them and kill them."
Hunt's social media profiles, which were still active as of Tuesday according to the Eagle, display rampant conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
According to NBC, Hunt, the son of a retired Queens family court judge, was a former Occupy Wall Street activist. In posts on his personal website, Hunt reportedly identified himself as a member of an Occupy Wall Street drum circle in featured photos and articles about the movement.
During Hunt's arraignment on Tuesday, Assistant US Attorney David Kessler described Hunt's direct calls for violence against elected officials as "chilling."
Hunt's attorney reportedly asked the judge to set bail due to his client's lack of criminal history. The judge denied the request due to the "nature and seriousness of danger to the community."