Man Who Had Unemployment Benefits Cut Off By Republicans Threatens John Boehner’s Life

An Indiana man who had his unemployment benefits cut off after House Republicans refused to extend them has been arrested by the FBI for making multiple threats on Speaker of the House John Boehner’s life.

Months after Brandon Thompson lost his unemployment benefits worth $341.00 a week, he did something that no one should ever do. He began threatening to kill John Boehner.

On April 1, 2014, Thompson used the contact form on Boehner’s official website to leave the following message:

On May 1, 2014, Boehner’s wife received the following message on her cell phone:

On May 6, 2014, Boehner’s wife received a second message from the same person on her phone:

According to the criminal complaint, Thompson pulled a gun on a debt collector four years ago. This person is not a hero, but his behavior is an extremely criminal example of the kind of desperation that has likely set in for millions of people who had their unemployment benefits cut off by House Republicans who believe that these individuals are takers who should go get a job.

Millions of people are in a desperate position because of the historic decision that House Republicans made to block extending unemployment benefits. Politicians who are interested in only pleasing their big money donors have ignored the fact that their ideologically based decisions have real life consequences.

Brandon Thompson should be prosecuted because threatening the lives of elected officials is against the law, but House Republicans are not fooling anyone with their Benghazi charade. People understand what is really going on, and they are getting angrier by the day. As economic inequality continues to grow, and millions are pushed to the brink, it likely that stories like this one could become more common.

However, the answer is never to threaten the life of anyone. The answer is to remove the problem at the ballot box. Threatening people will only get you arrested, but organizing and voting will get you a new Congress.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association