The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges on Friday against a man accused of sending a threatening letter to Florida-based conservative media influencer Benny Johnson.
George Isabel is in custody for allegedly mailing the threat to Johnson’s home days after the Sept. 10 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Utah, Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a Florida press conference. Isabel is charged with mailing threatening communications and could see prison time if convicted, Bondi said.
“The author of this letter made it very clear that he hated Benny because of his views and he wanted Benny dead,” Bondi told reporters. Johnson swiftly called her shortly after receiving the letter, sparking a federal investigation, the attorney general said. Law enforcement traced the letter’s origin to San Diego, California, and identified Isabel as the sender based on fingerprints left on it, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe.
It was not immediately clear if Isabel had an attorney.
Bondi and Johnson each took to the podium at the press conference to decry rising political violence, highlighting the arrest of left-leaning suspect Tyler Robinson in Kirk’s murder. The letter to Johnson derided him as a “cis,” white, Christian Trump supporter and talked about how blood would be coming out of his head, Johnson said.
“This was a left-wing radical, absolutely,” Bondi told the press, comparing the suspect to Robinson.
“This guy thought he got away with this, and he thought he could hurt Benny and his family, and it’s not going to happen,” Bondi said. She mentioned that the government has “other open cases” of a similar nature.
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