WILMINGTON, N.C. — An American citizen living in Thailand has pleaded guilty to threatening to kill U.S. Senator Thom Tillis and his staff.
According to court documents, 53-year-old Eric Charles Welton made multiple harassing and intimidating calls to the offices of Republican elected officials and GOP organizations in the United States.
He said he made the calls because he was angry about the large number of unsolicited political emails he received.
In September 2021, Welton said he spoke with a staff member at the Senator’s Raleigh office and threatened to show up and “put a bullet through each of [their] heads.”
Welton also threatened to come to North Carolina and “mow…down” the “whole [expletive] state” and find the person who emailed him and cut off his hands.
“Threatening to kill a public official and his staff is not only despicable but also an affront to our democratic system of government,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
On Wednesday, Welton pleaded guilty to one count of threatening a federal official on account of his duties.
He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
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