The FBI arrested a man accused of sending a death threat to Rep. Mike Collins, the Georgia Republican running in one of the country’s most competitive U.S. Senate races, and his son-in-law.
The suspect was arrested on Friday and charged with two counts of terroristic threats, according to the sheriff’s office in Butts County, Georgia, which assisted the FBI.
“Threatening to kill a public official or his family is not politics — it is a criminal act, and we will take it seriously and hold those responsible accountable just as we did in this case,” said Butts County Sheriff Gary Long in a statement posted to social media Monday.
The FBI said in an X post Monday that the suspect was arrested in Buffalo, New York.
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Butts County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Munger told The Washington Sun that the suspect had sent a threatening message to Collins on Instagram, and that Collins forwarded the message to the sheriff’s office.
“It’s a rather long message, but it ultimately is just a threat to kill him and his son-in-law,” Munger said.
According to the sheriff’s office, the threat was prompted by something the suspect read online about Collins and his son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II.
In the Facebook post, the sheriff’s office wrote that investigators “determined the threat was connected to information in an online story that was not accurate or true.”
Munger said he had not personally seen the story and could not comment on what it said about Collins or his son-in-law.
Collins’ son-in-law has come under scrutiny in the course of the Senate campaign. CNN reported in July that he has a history of posting far-right content online.
The suspect was taken into custody “without incident” outside his home in Buffalo and confessed to sending the message in an interview with law enforcement, Munger said.
The suspect will be charged in Butts County Superior Court, according to Munger, and is expected to have an extradition hearing Wednesday or Thursday.
Collins is running to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the closely watched battleground state. After the CNN report, Ossoff attacked Collins for not addressing his son-in-law’s posts.
The Republican later told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Nobody speaks for me, and I don’t speak for anybody else,” and reiterated his support for Israel.
Collins’ campaign did not immediately respond to The Sun’s inquiry.
Collins thanked law enforcement in a post on X on Monday and accused Ossoff of “whipping up” political violence.
“No American should have to worry that their home could be the next Butler, Pennsylvania or Utah Valley University,” Collins said. “I’m grateful to the FBI, the Butts County Sheriff’s Department, and all law enforcement partners for acting quickly to protect my family.”
A spokesperson for Ossoff’s campaign said in a statement to The Sun that the senator “condemns all threats of violence.”
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