A North Dakota man has been arrested for threatening federal officials in an email that referenced the weekend assassination of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband.
Charles Dalzell is accused of sending the menacing message on Sunday to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota. In it, he claimed he was ignored by multiple government officials when he sought out their help with a legal issue, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court Tuesday. He specifically claimed he was owed money after a court victory.
“Now I’m going to be honest with you I don’t want this situation to end up like Minnesota over the weekend, do you?” the email said, per the complaint. “I’m trying to get all of you to actually follow the law, not ignore me, not lie to me, not mislead me and purposely waist (sic) my time I don’t have.”
Dalzell allegedly went on to name two public officials and a judge, whom he claimed were neglecting their duties.
The email continued: “Just sitting here wondering [why] a law maker and a representative were shot and one dead over in Minnesota and one thing comes to mind, something like that doesn’t fall out of the sky now does it…”
Dalzell was charged with one count of making threats against a federal official and one count of making interstate threats.
Hortman and her husband, Mark, were fatally shot at their Brooklyn Park home early Saturday morning in what authorities have called a politically motivated attack. The double shooting came just hours after the same suspect, identified as Vance Boelter, opened fire on state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin, some 8 miles away. They were both rushed to an area hospital and have since undergone surgery.
Boelter is facing both state and federal charges of murder, attempted murder and other crimes.