A New York man has been arrested after reportedly threatening House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
Carlos Bayon, 63, has been charged with threats across state lines after leaving a voicemail on June 30, in which prosecutors claim he can be heard saying, "Hey listen, this message is for you and the people that sent you there. You are taking ours, we are taking yours. Anytime, anywhere."
Authorities searched Bayon’s house in Buffalo and according to U.S. Attorney James Kennedy, found “very concerning” items that lead to his eventual arrest.
Kennedy says prosecutors believe the threat is in response to the separation of illegal immigrant children from their parents at the border.
Scalise and McMorris are the third and fourth highest-ranking Republicans in the House, behind Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Speaker Paul Ryan.
Scalise was shot in June last year when a gunman executed a premeditated attack on Republicans during their congressional baseball practice. The bullet wounds nearly killed Scalise, but that hasn’t stop him from continuing to do his job on Capitol Hill, where he walks on crutches and uses an electric scooter.