Report: FBI, Police Arrest Man Who Targeted Ben Shapiro with 'Serious' Death Threats
An arrest was made Wednesday regarding “extremely serious” death threats that prominent conservative commentator Ben Shapiro recently received.
Shapiro, founder of The Daily Wire and host of popular political podcast “The Ben Shapiro Show,” reportedly filed a police report with Los Angeles Police Department upon receipt of death threats made against him, his wife and their young daughter.
LAPD responded by contacting the FBI, which formed a joint task force with Secret Service and local police to pursue the source of the threats.
The suspect — named as Chase Bliss Colasurdo — was arrested Wednesday in Kent, Washington, according to TMZ.
Law enforcement officers were reportedly made aware of Colasurdo’s increasingly concerning behavior in February, when they were alerted to social media threats made by Colasurdo against members of the Trump family — namely Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr.
“I will personally execute Jared Kushner,” Colasurdo had written on Instagram.
Colasurdo followed up the next day with a photograph of himself holding a handgun and boasting that he had yet to be arrested for the threats.
TMZ included the photo, which has since been removed, in its Thursday report.
https://images.tmz.com/2019/05/02/0502-chase-colasurdo-instagram-3.jpg
“Weird … I made a death threat against Jared Kushner yesterday and I have not been arrested yet,” he wrote. “Almost like I have special forces murdering anyone trying to f— with me or something.”
In a statement made about Donald Trump Jr. in March, Colasurdo said, “I would just like to let the secret service know that I am going to Execute this f—–.”
Authorities found Colasurdo to have been amassing an arsenal in recent months that included several firearms, Kevlar body armor, night-vision goggles and a gas mask, TMZ reported in a follow-up article.
Colasurdo’s residence also held numerous pieces of Nazi paraphernalia — which included a Nazi flag and a framed photograph of Adolf Hitler.
Shapiro thanked law enforcement Wednesday on Twitter for the rapid response to his police report.
Thanks to local and federal law enforcement for their quick and hard work here. Stay safe out there, everyone! https://t.co/XHR4wpDo5c
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 1, 2019
“Thanks to local and federal law enforcement for their quick and hard work here. Stay safe out there, everyone!” Shapiro wrote.
Not unfamiliar with anti-Semitic and politically motivated threats, Shapiro quickly proceeded to joke about the incident by poking fun of the photo of him that TMZ included in its initial report.
That TMZ photo with me in the Twins cap is slightly humiliating, however. #whitesox forever!
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 1, 2019
(For the record, I own all of the MLB hats, and I switch them out when I travel.)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 1, 2019
“That TMZ photo with me in the Twins cap is slightly humiliating, however. #whitesox forever!” Shapiro wrote.
“(For the record, I own all of the MLB hats, and I switch them out when I travel.),” he added.
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