A New Hampshire college student appeared in court Monday on charges of threatening to kill a member of Congress after authorities say he made a drunken phone call warning he would retaliate against the lawmaker for “coming for the gays.”
Allen B. Poller admitted to authorities he made the call to a congressional office in Washington, D.C., according to court documents.
The call came in at 12:20 a.m. Wednesday.
Mr. Poller told police he was drunk and “emotional” at the time, but insisted he didn’t actually mean the threat.
The lawmaker wasn’t named in the court documents.
Mr. Poller is a student at Keene State College. His hometown is Springfield, Vermont.
According to the FBI affidavit filed in the case, he called and got a voicemail, where he left his name — including the spelling and his phone number.
He then launched into his threat.
“I guarantee you, you do not want to [expletive] with us. We will kill you if that’s what it takes. I will take a bullet to your [expletive] head if you [expletive] with my rights anymore,” he said, according to the FBI document. “And then if you want to keep going down that path, you know who’s next.”
He said he was upset about the lawmaker “coming for the gays” and vowed, “we’re gonna strike back.”
A magistrate judge ordered as part of Mr. Poller’s pretrial release that he not consume alcohol.
Jesse Friedman, Mr. Poller’s lawyer, called him a “peaceful young man.”
“He means no ill will toward anybody and does not believe in violence or disruptive protest,” the lawyer said. “He is mindful of the allegations against him and will allow the legal process to continue without further comment at this time. Allen maintains and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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