Michigan man arrested for threatening FBI Director Congressman Chris Wray
Photo of Neil Walter included in an FBI affidavit filing in federal court in connection with criminal charges against a Michigan man seen in photos for threatening the FBI director and congressman.
FBI
A Michigan man who owns a registered handgun has been arrested for allegedly making death threats against FBI Director Chris Wray two weeks after he allegedly made similar threats against Democratic Representative John Garamendi of California, according to a Federal court filing released Tuesday.
The man, identified as Neil Matthew Walter, was charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to harm another person.
Walter, a 32-year-old Grand Blanc resident, was remanded in custody without bail during an appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He is then due to appear in this court on December 1 for a detention hearing.
Garamendi’s office reported to U.S. Capitol Police that he received a threatening voicemail message allegedly left by Walter on the night of Nov. 3, according to a criminal complaint.
“John. Hi John. You’re going to die John. You’re going to die,” the voicemail said, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent attached to the complaint.
When Capitol Police requested a wellness check on Walter at his home, he responded to a local police detective “with a gun in hand and at first refused to drop the gun. or leave the residence,” the filing said.
Walter then “placed the handgun in his hoodie pocket but kept his hand on the firearm during contact with the police”.
The affidavit says Walter was fuming at the detective.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled ‘Federal Bureau of Investigation Oversight’, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. August 4, 2022.
Jim Bourg | Reuters
When Walter’s father arrived at the residence, the father informed investigators “of his son’s mental instability and his history of committal to a Florida hospital,” the FBI agent wrote.
Walter’s mother later told police he was “diagnosed with unspecified psychosis,” according to the affidavit.
On November 10, when Capitol Police contacted Walter’s mother, she told them that he “refuses mental health treatment, is still in possession of a handgun, and has stated that he is would protect if someone came to try to remove him from his home.”
Later that day, Walter contacted the Capitol Police Criminal Investigations Unit and “expressed strong displeasure that the USCP should not have called his family about him” and said police of the Capitol “will make the situation worse,” the affidavit states.
More than a week later on Saturday, Walter allegedly used his Facebook account to post a series of threatening comments to a live video showing FBI Director Wray, according to the affidavit.
“Director Wray is going to die every day multiple times a day for raping my family over and over again and lying to them and me about it in self defense,” read one of Walter’s posts.
Walter’s Facebook page also featured a number of comments “stating half of the senators, FBI, CIA, police, Tom Cruise and Elon Musk are involved in a child slave rape ring, listing various locations where are these networks, one of which identified the United States Capitol,” according to the FBI.
A gun check showed that Walter had a registered Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Walter’s mother told the FBI he also had a gun, according to the affidavit.
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