Rep. Dan Newhouse advised to avoid public gatherings following death threats

Rep. Dan Newhouse has been advised to limit public appearances after receiving verbal assassination threats in which the caller claimed he would “slit [his] throat.”

The threats were made over the phone to Newhouse’s office in Washington, D.C., and told an intern who answered the call that he planned to drive to the district office and kill Newhouse and his staff, according to the Washington State Standard.

Death threats made toward Dan Newhouse

It is unknown who is advising Newhouse to avoid these public appearances, as of this reporting, but House Speaker Mike Johnson and other conservative representatives, according to The Associated Press, believe the increasing number of town hall outbursts are led by “paid protestors,” and are becoming increasingly dangerous.

On March 4, Johnson encouraged republican lawmakers to avoid town halls, which he claimed are filled with “professional protesters.”

However, Newhouse’s case is a bit different, having received numerous threats against his life, and his staff in Washington, D.C.

Court records revealed that on March 20, when Newhouse was in Pasco, Washington, Bradley Whaley of Burlington allegedly called Newhouse’s D.C. office and made numerous threats on Newhouse and his staff’s lives.

“An individual made a real, direct threat against the lives of the congressman and his district staff, which resulted in swift action by federal and local law enforcement,” spokesman Matt Reed said in a statement. “Since the incident, the office has been advised against large, in-person events. The Congressman is eager to hear more from constituents, and staff are working to schedule a telephone town hall very soon with public safety as the top priority.”

The threatening phone call was traced back to Tukwila after law enforcement investigators obtained phone records indicating the call came from a cell tower in Tukwila at the same time the threat was reported by Newhouse’s office.

When Newhouse’s intern answered the phone, Whaley allegedly asked to speak with Newhouse and asked if he was in one of his district offices, then threatened to kill him.

“I am going to go there and slit [his] throat and slit [his] staff’s throat,” prosecutors alleged that Whaley said.

After a pause, Whaley then continued to state his availability to follow through on the threats made toward Newhouse and his staff.

“Yeah, it’s 2 p.m., I still have plenty of time to do that,” Whaley said, according to prosecutors.

The intern then asked for the caller’s name, but the caller replied with profanity and refused to reveal himself. He eventually gave his name to the intern, according to the complaint. After the call, the intern wrote down Whaley’s statements and recorded his phone number, noting that he spoke with an “aggravated tone” and a “Midwestern accent.”

Whaley also allegedly previously called Newhouse’s D.C. office numerous times from the same number. In those calls, Whaley provided his name in voicemails and while talking to Newhouse’s staff.

The same intern had reported at least four calls from Whaley before the March 20 threat, which included a threat to drive to D.C. and attack Newhouse, according to prosecutors. In a voicemail on March 15, Whaley allegedly claimed that the Second Amendment in the Constitution gave him the “right to form a militia and take out” Newhouse, and then confirmed that he was making a threat toward Newhouse.

On March 18, Whaley allegedly mentioned in a voicemail that Newhouse “Needs to be scared of us. We’re in Washington. We will take his a** out.”

Location data provided by T-Mobile enabled law enforcement agents to locate Whaley and arrest him outside of the office where he worked in downtown Seattle on March 21. Whaley was arrested on suspicion of violating a federal law that prohibits making interstate threats, a crime with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

A report from the U.S. Capitol Police included that threats against Congress members, their families, and staff have risen to nearly 9,500 cases in 2024, a number that has more than doubled since 2017, when there were 4,000 recorded threats.

Whaley was released on bond on March 24, and his indictment was postponed until Sept. 15, according to court records.

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