Police officers found ammo, receipts for guns, and books on building bombs in the home of a man accused of threatening multiple Republican officials.
Special agent Lawrence Anyaso said in an affidavit filed in federal court that investigators found hundreds of rounds of ammo, receipts for multiple guns, and books about guns and explosives in the Grand Island, Louisiana home.
Bayon faces two counts, one of threatening to kill two members of Congress, Scalise (R-LA.) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), and transmitting the threat across state lines via the telephone.
Scalise missed three months of work after being gravely wounded and still has to use an electric scooter and crutches to move around.
“Hey listen, this message is for you and the people that sent you there. You are taking ours, we are taking yours. Anytime, anywhere. We know where they are. We are not going to feed them sandwiches, we are going to feed them lead. Make no mistake you will pay,” Bayon said in the messages.
“Ojo por ojo, diente por diente [‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ in Spanish]. That is our law and we are the majority. Have a good day.”
Federal officials noted that Bayon appears to have broken the law.
“Though the government cannot force people to respect one another, the government can force people to respect the rule of law by prosecuting those who break it,” U.S. Attorney James Kennedy said in a statement.
“If someone disagrees with a law, then the Constitution specifies the means to be pursued to have that law changed. Threats to lawmakers are not an acceptable means to accomplish that objective.”
If Bayon is found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
