PA Man Threatened To Kill Political Party Representative, Feds Say

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man has been federally indicted after authorities said he threatened to kill a representative of a state political party who was recruiting official poll watchers.

John Pollard, 62, of Philadelphia, is accused of sending threatening text messages in September to a person who was recruiting volunteers to "help observe at the polls on Election Day," the Department of Justice said.

The victim, authorities said, included their phone number in an online post about the recruitment effort. Pollard messaged that person, claiming he was "interested in being a poll watcher" and included the victim's first name, authorities said.

Authorities said Pollard then sent text messages to the victim, including messages that read, "I will KILL YOU IF YOU DON’T ANSWER ME," and "GONNA F***ING FIND YOU AND SKIN YOU ALIVE AND USE YOUR SKIN FOR F***ING TOILET PAPER."

Pollard was taken into custody Monday and appeared in federal court in Philadelphia. He is charged with one count of transmitting interstate threats. If convicted, Pollard faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.