Two Yellowstone County Residents Indicted for Threatening State and National Leaders

Two residents of Yellowstone County, Montana, have been indicted in separate federal court cases on charges of threatening state and national leaders. Anthony James Cross, 29, and Richard Lee Rogers face accusations of threatening to kill members of the United States Congress.

Cross pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of threatening the lives of Senator Jon Tester and President Joe Biden. Court documents state that Cross allegedly threatened to murder Tester and made a statement, “I will personally kill Joe Biden.” In April, Cross came under federal scrutiny after allegedly threatening a woman at a Billings trailer park with a pellet gun designed to resemble a Glock handgun. The FBI informed the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office that they had discovered online videos in which Cross threatened politicians and transgender individuals, as well as a recording in which he threatened to kill a man sleeping in a car near his home.

Rogers, a resident of Shepherd, is accused of threatening to kill Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and making harassing telephone calls. According to court documents, Rogers threatened to fatally assault Rep. McCarthy in retaliation for his actions as House Speaker. On the same day, Rogers made several harassing phone calls, although the recipients of these calls were not specified in the documents.

Cross is scheduled to go to trial for the Yellowstone County charges in October. He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. Rogers is set to make his initial appearance in federal court next month.