Coon Rapids man accused of leaving U.S. Senator threatening voicemails

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (FOX 9) - A federal grand jury indicted a Coon Rapids man Friday for allegedly threatening a U.S. Senator after he left several voicemails. 

Brendon Michael Daugherty, 35, was charged with one count of threatening to murder a United States official and one count of interstate transmission of a threat. He made his first appearance in court Friday, the Department of Justice said in a press release. 

According to court documents, On June 11, 2022, Daugherty allegedly left two threatening voicemails to a Senator outside Minnesota. 

In the first message, he said, "You and the Republican Party should be proud that you’re pushing me to become a domestic terrorist. Have a nice [expletive] day; can’t wait to kill ya."

In the second voicemail, he said, "I also just wanted to note, thank god the Republican Party is against gun control laws because it would keep guns out of the hands of a person that was disabled and volatile like I am, but you guys are totally against that. So I may actually get to carry out my nefarious goals," according to court documents.  

The U.S. senator’s staff retrieved and recorded the messages and reported them to U.S. Capitol Police.

During the investigation, Daugherty allegedly told FBI agents he called because the senator was "doing a bunch of stupid [expletive] with gun control," and he wanted politicians to "feel a little bit pressured," court documents state. 

Daugherty was previously convicted of one count of terroristic threats for making threatening phone calls to employees at a Maple Grove Pearle Vision store in 2018, according to court documents.