Illinois man accused of threatening inauguration violence faces a federal charge

Shattered glass from last week's attack on Congress by a pro-Trump mob. Louis Capriotti was arrested Tuesday near his Chicago Heights home. Photo / AP

A suburban Chicago man accused of threatening to take the lives of President-elect Joe Biden and other Democrats at the upcoming inauguration in Washington, DC, has been arrested, prosecutors in the US have said.

The US Attorney's Office in Chicago said in a news release that Louis Capriotti of Chicago Heights faces a federal charge of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce and is scheduled to make a court appearance.

Prosecutors said Capriotti, 45, is accused of leaving a threatening voicemail for a member of the US House of Representatives on December 29. The message said if people "think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that [expletive] White House on January 20th, they're sadly [expletive] mistaken".

He continued: "We will surround the [expletive] White House and we will kill any [expletive] Democrat that steps on the [expletive] lawn," according to the release.

The US Attorney's office said Capriotti has a history of leaving profane voicemails for members of Congress.

The call was made several days before a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters smashed their way into the US Capitol building. Five people, including a US Capitol Police officer, died in the January 6 assault on Washington. Dozens of people have been arrested in the attack, which temporarily halted congressional business to confirm Biden as president.