PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man charged with threatening the No. 2 Republican in the House was being held without bail Monday pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Norman Leboon, 38, is accused of trying to post a YouTube video in which he threatened to kill Republican Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia. Leboon is wanted by city authorities in another threat case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Reed said.
The threat against Cantor does not appear to be connected to the health care reform bill, though it's not clear whether Leboon was upset with the House Republican whip about other issues, Reed said. Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in Congress, and Passover begins Monday at sundown.
Reed told a judge that Leboon appears to have major psychiatric issues.
Leboon calls himself the "son of the god of Enoch" in the video and calls Cantor "pure evil," according to court documents.
Leboon's public defender declined comment.
Cantor said through a spokesman that authorities had notified him of a threat over the weekend and had been keeping him posted on Leboon's arrest. He referred further questions to the FBI.
Last week, police in Richmond, Va., determined that a bullet that hit a window of Cantor's office there had been randomly fired skyward.
At a news conference Thursday, Cantor said he has received threats since he's assumed elected office not only because of his leadership position but because of his faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment