New Hampshire Man Charged with Threatening Presidential Candidates Found Dead During Jury Deliberation

A New Hampshire man, Tyler Anderson, who was facing charges for threatening the lives of presidential candidates, has been found dead while a jury was deliberating his verdict, according to court filings on Thursday. The jury had commenced their deliberation on Tuesday after a trial that began on Monday. Anderson’s lawyer has not yet responded to requests for comment.

In a court filing, it was revealed that “the government has learned that the defendant is deceased,” leading prosecutors to move for the dismissal of the indictment. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not disclose the names of the candidates involved. However, during Anderson’s arrest, it was stated that the threatening texts were directed at the campaign of Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

During an interview with the FBI, Anderson admitted to sending similar threatening texts to “multiple other campaigns,” as stated in a court document. In December, Anderson was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of sending threats using interstate commerce. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

After Anderson failed to appear in court, the Concord Police in New Hampshire were asked to assist in locating him. Eventually, his car was discovered in a garage at Concord Hospital on Wednesday evening. Officers detected a strong chemical odor emanating from the vehicle and called in a hazmat team. Anderson’s body was subsequently removed from the car and pronounced dead. No weapons were found, and at this time, no foul play is suspected, according to Deputy Chief John Thomas.

Anderson had been arrested on December 9 and was released on December 14, with several conditions set by a federal judge for his release. These conditions included avoiding contact with any presidential candidate or their political campaigns and adhering to his prescribed medications. Anderson was also receiving mental health treatment.

According to court documents, Anderson received a text message from Ramaswamy’s campaign notifying him of a breakfast event in Portsmouth. In response, two threatening texts were sent to the campaign staff. One threatened to shoot the candidate in the head, while the other threatened to kill everyone at the event and desecrate their corpses. The charges state that similar texts were sent to two different candidates before the messages sent to Ramaswamy’s campaign, on November 22 and December 6.

A court document filed during Anderson’s arrest included a screenshot of texts from December 6, which threatened a mass shooting in response to an invitation to see a candidate who “isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.” These events were associated with Republican Chris Christie’s campaign, known as “Tell it Like It Is Town Halls.” A spokesperson for the Christie campaign expressed gratitude to law enforcement officials for addressing those threats.

The U.S. Department of Justice, in accordance with the Crime Victims Rights Act, does not disclose the names of victims to respect their privacy.