Raymond Chandler III, a resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and self-declared U.S. Senate hopeful for the Democratic Party primary in 2028, was arrested by Secret Service agents on May 1 after allegedly sending violent threats directed towards President Donald Trump and a senator’s daughter.
Court documents indicate that Chandler left multiple voicemails for an unidentified member of Congress over a period spanning from April 2025 to April 2026. In the messages, he identified himself and provided his address. The voicemails referenced the recipient as “Senator” and included graphic descriptions tied to wealth inequality and political grievances.
One voicemail, left on April 18, 2026, described a hypothetical scenario involving billionaires. “Sir, I have, uh, I’m calling this morning ’cause I want you to imagine a scenario. I want you to imagine a scenario where all the 1,200 billionaires in this country, all their properties are surrounded simultaneously by a thousand people. So imagine your house, your daughter’s house, everyone you know and love who is also rich. Imagine every single one of those homes being surrounded by a thousand people,” Chandler said to the unidentified lawmaker.
“Then imagine them all getting a text and then, then suddenly taking out their pocket knives, walking slowly towards your house with 10, you got your 10 guards or whatever against a thousand people, and then they come and they pull you out of your house and they slit your throat and they slit your daughter’s throat and they slit everyone’s throat. That you know, sir, that is the future. It’s not a future I want, it’s not a future I’m advocating for, but wealth concentration has gotten so bad in this country. The greed has gotten so bad. People are suffering so much, sir, that that is what is in our future. You will not escape their wrath. We must redistribute the wealth away from people like you.”
A subsequent voicemail, left around April 28, 2026, urged the recipient to assassinate the president.
“You’ve probably getting quite used to my voice. Sir, I’m calling this evening because what I want you to do is I want you to take a firearm. I want you to put it in your hand. I want you to walk into the Oval Office. I want you to put that firearm to the President’s head, and I want you to pull the trigger and I want you to kill him. I am petitioning you, Senator for redress of grievances,” Chandler said. He went on to repeatedly urge the senator to assassinate the president, whom he referred to as “the antichrist.”
Additional voicemails referenced support for armed resistance against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a desire to build gallows to hang the member of Congress, and Chandler’s statement that he had purchased a combat knife out of fear that the government would kill him. The member of Congress was not named in the unsealed affidavit.
Democrat with a “be kind” poster was just arrested for threatening to kiII Trump
Can’t make this up pic.twitter.com/kfyupNh72Q
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 3, 2026
Chandler had recently launched a campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2028, positioning himself as a challenger to incumbent Senator John Fetterman (D-PA).
In an announcement video posted prior to the arrest, Chandler stated he had been fired from a job on a Thursday and decided to run. He described himself as a Quaker, a Christian, a Buddhist and a follower of the way of Hermes, adding that he “comes as a sword.”
The video showed him seated in front of a pennant or banner reading “Be Kind.”
Chandler made an initial appearance in federal court in Pittsburgh on May 1, where he was advised of the charges. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 8.
