A Peoria man has been indicted on federal charges after allegedly threatening to commit violence against several high-profile public officials, including former President Donald Trump and the former U.S. Attorney for Illinois’ Central District.
According to a press release, Damien Grant, 33, is facing three counts of influencing a federal official by threat, along with multiple counts of mailing threatening communications.
He also faces a separate charge for allegedly threatening the president of the United States.
John Lausch, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, will handle the prosecution of the case, as the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District has recused itself from the case since it is one of the parties involved.
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According to an indictment, Grant allegedly wrote a letter to the U.S. Attorney in Nov. 2020 that contained the threat “you have two days to drop all charges and investigations against me, or I’m going to make sure you never see Christmas.”
Grant also allegedly threatened to blow up the Central District courthouse.
The indictment says the man allegedly send similar threatening letters to Trump in Dec. 2020, as well as a U.S. District Judge that same month.
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If convicted, Grant could face up to 10 years in prison on each count in the indictment.
