Shenandoah Valley Man Arrested for Graphic Online Threats

Frank Lucio CarilloPhoto byRoanoke City Jail

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A Winchester man was arrested at his home for making online threats against Vice President Kamala Harris and other public officials.

According to a media statement from the office of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, Frank Lucio Carillo, 66, made his initial court appearance on Monday, August 5, 2024 after being arrested at his home on Friday, August 2.

Court documents show that on July 27, 2024, the Maricopa County, Arizona, Recorder’s Office notified the FBI’s Phoenix Office of potential threats being made on the social media platform GETTR (a site described as “one platform combining the best features from top networks”). The threats were being made by a user with the name “joemadarats1.”

According to CNN, court records say that in several posts, joemadarats1 described various ways he wanted to kill her.

“I will cut your eyes out,” joemadarats1 wrote in one expletive-laden rant where he called Harris a “b*tch” and said he hoped she would “suffer a slow agonizing death.”

A number of similar posts are cited in court records, with graphic and detailed threats against the vice president as well as others, including one Islamophobic post in 2023 when he wrote that people should “go out with your guns and kill all Muslims.”

FBI agents searched the user account for “joemadarats1” and discovered approximately 4,359 posts and replies made by the user targeting various public officials including, but not limited to, President Joseph Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Vice President Harris was mentioned 19 times by “joemadarats1,” including numerous specific threats of violence.

In a February 2024 post, “joemadarats1” said he had his “AR-15 LOCKED AND LOADED.”

Authorities used subscriber information for the social media site along with other investigative methods to match the “joemadarats1” username with Carillo and to pinpoint his physical location.

“Open political discourse is a cornerstone of our American experience. We can disagree. We can argue and we can debate. However, when those disagreements cross the line to threats of violence, law enforcement must step in,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia said.

On the day of his arrest, authorities from the FBI Richmond executed a search warrant at Carillo’s home and seized a 9 mm pistol, an AR-15 rifle and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The criminal complaint shows Frank Lucio Carillo was charged with knowingly and willfully making online threats against the life of Harris, who has secured the delegates to be the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential race.

“The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. We take all threats of violence seriously, and we will investigate them to the fullest and hold those responsible accountable,” Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI’s Richmond Division said.

The FBI in both Richmond, Virginia and Phoenix, Arizona, and the United States Secret Service are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Welsh is prosecuting the case.