A 29-year-old Toronto man has been arrested and charged with directing bomb threats to a U.S. senator in Washington state.
Cops and local media say Louis Bernabe was arrested in Seattle, Wash. last week.
Bernabe allegedly flew to Seattle from Toronto and booked a room at the W Hotel. The hotel is about three blocks from Democratic Sen Patty Murray’s office, KOMO News reports.
Court documents cited by KOMO said Bernabe does not have a residence or employment in Seattle. It is unclear when Bernabe flew into the Pacific Northwest city.
Cops say that on Sept. 10, Bernabe posted on social media allegedly threatening to bomb Murray’s office. He visited her office the next day, asking staff how he could get a one-on-one then posted a selfie standing on the floor where Murray’s office is located.
He allegedly wrote on social media: “Senator Murray @senpattymurray, I am warning you ONCE AND FOR ALL. Quit your trashy play of partisan nonsense AT ONCE, or I swear to God, I WILL have you check the undercarriage of your car every single day to ensure you don’t get BLOWN UP to pieces. The people of this county have had it with the nonproductive crap from both sides. I have not seen my girlfriend in FIVE YEARS. We have the right to be in couple and reproduce if we choose to. If you deny us this right, you are nothing more than a nasty animal. In this case, I will condone whoever decides to put you down. Rabid creatures should be put to death.”
He had also posted a photo of a Heckler & Koch UMP submachine gun.
Not long afterward, Bernabe was arrested and taken to the King County Jail. He is being held on $250,000 bail. Bernabe has no prior criminal record.
However, he posted on Twitter that he had undergone eight psychiatric evaluations. He wrote: “I was diagnosed as having no specific mental illness.”
A relieved Murray thanked the cops.
“I am grateful to the Seattle Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police for their hard work to keep me, my family, and my staff safe following the recent bomb threat made by the individual now in custody. I’m doing well and hard at work, focused on everything from passing my bill to protect our right to IVF, to confirming another highly qualified judge for Washington state, to working to keep our government responsibly funded and open.”
Bernabe was booked for two counts of making bomb threats and felony harassment.
@HunterTOSun