PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official or federal law enforcement officer by threat, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.The five-count Indictment named Raymond Eugene Chandler III, 40, as the sole defendant.According to the Indictment, between April 18, 2025, and May 1, 2026, Chandler repeatedly called members of Congress and left voicemails related to his disagreements with immigration enforcement actions, armed conflicts, and wealth inequality. In those messages, Chandler advocated for various acts of violence against U.S. officials, their families, ICE agents, and the wealthy; shared his plan to publish personally identifiable information of ICE agents; accused U.S. officials of violating their covenants with God or otherwise inciting God’s anger; implied knowing where members of Congress lived; described his purchase of bladed weapons; and stated “I am willing to personally kill.” The Indictment alleges that Chandler threatened to assault and murder ICE agents, a member of Congress and the member’s daughter, and the President of the United States with intent to impede, intimidate, interfere with, and retaliate against U.S. officials and federal law enforcement on account of the performance of their official duties. Chandler’s voicemails included descriptions of the targeted murder and assassination of ICE agents, as well as his plan to “teach” restaurants how to poison ICE agents. The voicemails further asserted his desire to hang a member of Congress, attack a member of Congress and their family member, and instruct a member of Congress to assassinate the President in the Oval Office.The Indictment further alleges that, on May 1, 2026, Chandler left a voicemail for a member of Congress in which he praised anarchists for committing a historical bombing, ending the message with “I want you to be terrified.” Later that day, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Chandler at his residence. During his subsequent preliminary and detention hearings, the prosecution presented excerpts from Chandler’s journal, which was seized from his residence after his arrest. Chandler wrote in one entry: “I keep calling Congress telling them I want them to kill all the ICE agents and billionaires. I must sound insane to them and yet that is where my heart and head are really at.” In another entry, Chandler wrote: “I emotionally, politically, and intellectually support violence assaults on ICE agents. I actually support it. This is a very scary place to be.” At the conclusion of the hearings, the Court found that the United States had established by clear and convincing evidence that the weight of the evidence against the defendant “is strong,” and that Chandler presents a risk of serious danger to the community and ordered him detained pending trial.At each count, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.Assistant United States Attorney Brendan J. McKenna is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice