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After allegedly threatening to take the life of United States House Speaker John Boehner, an Indiana man can possibly face 20 years behind bars.
Brandon James Thompson, 32, appeared in court on Friday due to charges that he sent death threats to Boehner after his unemployment benefits ran out and the House Speaker didn't pass an emergency extension.
According to The Courier-Journal, Thompson, who is currently on house arrest, had to face a federal magistrate at the Indianapolis U.S District Court on Friday.
The prosecutors claimed that Thompson sent repetitive threat to the House Speaker via email and telephone.
"You want to play with 2.7 million people's lives I'm gonna take yours you'll never see it coming with my sniper rifle," said the message that was supposedly sent from Thompson to Boehner on April 1st, "April Fools' Day."
Even Boehner's wife claimed she was sent a voice mail with threats toward her husband. One message instructed her to tell Boehner to "redo the unemployment extension." How Thompson found Mrs. Boehner's phone number is unknown.
Chief Federal Defender Monica Foster, heading Thompson's defense team, says there were "extenuating circumstances" since her client was unemployed for over a year and was receiving $341 per week until January.
Last month seven House Republicans said, "Many more people have lost benefits each week, bringing the number of long-term unemployed Americans without government assistance to greater than two million."
Boehner's camp has yet to comment on the statement made by the House Republicans.
Although he has n criminal record, Thompson does have a gun permit and has been under five protective orders since 2001.
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