A Pennsylvania Democrat running for U.S. Senate in 2028 now faces federal charges after allegedly leaving voicemails threatening to slit the throats of a sitting Congress member, the lawmaker’s daughter, and calling for President Trump’s assassination. The FBI arrested Raymond Chandler III following a monthslong investigation into graphic threats made between April 2025 and January 2026.
Disturbing Voicemail Campaign Against Lawmaker
According to the criminal complaint filed in Western District of Pennsylvania, Chandler left his first threatening voicemail on April 18, 2025. The message described a scenario where billionaires’ homes would be surrounded by 1,000 people who would “take out their pocket knives” and “slit your throat and they slit your daughter’s throat.” He claimed wealth concentration justified this violence, though he insisted he wasn’t advocating for it. Investigators documented multiple threatening calls over nine months targeting the unnamed Congress member and their family.
Call to Assassinate President Trump
Eleven days later, Chandler allegedly called the same lawmaker demanding they kill President Trump. The April 29, 2025 voicemail instructed the Congress member to “walk into the Oval Office” with a firearm, “put it to the President’s head, and pull the trigger.” Chandler described Trump as “the antichrist” and a “great deceiver,” claiming he was exercising his free speech rights by petitioning his representative. The voicemail concluded with Chandler challenging authorities: “Now, Senator, are you gonna come after me?”
Armed Resistance and Combat Knife Purchases
The FBI affidavit details two additional voicemails from April 28, 2025. In the first, Chandler expressed fear the government would send people to death camps and revealed he recently purchased a seven-inch combat knife and dagger because he was “terrified” his government would kill him. The second message communicated support for armed resistance against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with Chandler stating his willingness to “go to war” and “personally” engage in violence. These threats came as Chandler was launching his far-left campaign challenging Senator John Fetterman.
Radical Platform and Federal Charges
Chandler’s campaign website prominently features “Tax the Billionaires” alongside 15 other far-left priorities including abolishing ICE and establishing universal basic income. He faces federal charges of threatening a federal official and influencing or retaliating against a federal official by threatening a family member. The charges carry significant prison time if convicted. The case highlights growing concerns about political violence and threats against elected officials from across the ideological spectrum. Federal authorities continue investigating whether Chandler made additional threats beyond those documented in the criminal complaint.