A Connecticut man in his fifties has been arrested after making threats to kill President Trump and claiming to have sent letters to Trump contaminated with Anthrax. The subject, 51 year-old Gary Joseph Gravelle of New Haven, Connecticut, has been charged on two felony counts: Conveying false information about an explosive device and making threats against the President of the Untied States, according to ABC News, on May 12, 2019. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/connecticut-man-accused-threatening-kill-trump-62991441
Bomb threats
The explosive device charge against Gravalle pertains to bomb threats that he sent to the White House addressed to President Trump and to the Islamic Center of New London. The threatening letters allegedly stated, "You die" and were laced with baby powder that easily could have been mistaken for Anthrax.
What is Anthrax?
Anthrax is a deadly bacterial disease that is caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis and afflicts cattle and sheep. It can be spread to humans. Cattle and sheep that are afflicted with the disease have to be destroyed because there is no known cure for the disease; although human victims of the deadly disease have been treated with the antibiotics doxycycline and ciprofloxacin with limited success.
Anthrax has been used as a weapon by terrorists. Baby powder, which looks like the white, powdery substance that contains Anthrax, sometimes is used by terrorists to incite fear in threatening letters. In this case, one such intended recipient of a baby powder/Anthrax hoax was President Trump.
Gravelle's prior conviction
Gravelle was convicted of sending threatening letters in 2013. More recently, he has been in custody since September 2018 for violating the terms of his probation.
Seriousness of threatening the President
Threatening the President of the United States, or a candidate for President, is a federal felony violation under the United States Code Title 18, Section 871. The key to conviction is whether the subject "knowingly and willfully" made such threats. Such threats are investigated by the Secret Service and are classified as political offenses. Subjects who are convicted under Title 18, Section 871 can look forward to many years or even decades of incarceration in federal prison.
-Kevin McClarty, Political Issues Forum 2019
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