US Senate candidate arrested for threatening to kill Trump: feds

A Pennsylvania man running for U.S. Senate is now facing federal charges for threatening a member of Congress, President Donald Trump, and the family of a U.S. official.

Raymond Eugene Chandler III was running to unseat fellow Democrat Sen. John Fetterman before he was arrested on May 1, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. According to an FBI arrest affidavit, Chandler left threats for more than a year on the voicemail of an unnamed senator. The affidavit said that the threats were directed at the senator as well as the "immediate family of a United States official" and Trump.

The voicemail threats started in April 2025, when Chandler described buying a "seven-inch combat knife and dagger," said he's ready to "personally kill" ICE agents and told the unnamed senator that he'll "build gallows" to hang him, per the affidavit.

In January 2026, Chandler said he would "organize armed resistance" against ICE and "those who deserve death," including Trump. According to a Primetimer article. Chandler launched his campaign via YouTube in February 2026 to replace Fetterman in the 2028 election cycle.

In mid-April this year, one of Chandler's voicemails asked the senator to imagine thousands of people surrounding his house and the house of "1,200 billionaires." Chandler said that on command, they would "slit your throat, and they slit your daughter’s throat," the affidavit read.

Last week, on April 29, just days before his arrest, Chandler allegedly told the unnamed senator that, and said, "I'm calling this evening because what I want you to do is I want you to take a firearm. I want you to put it in your hand. I want you to walk into the Oval Office. I want you to put that firearm to the President's head, and I want you to pull the trigger," the affidavit detailed.

It was the last voicemail before his arrest. In it, Chandler described Trump as "a liar among all liars. He's a great deceiver. He's the antichrist," according to the affidavit.

"I want you to kill the President," Chandler allegedly said. "I want you to assassinate the president. That's what I want you to do. Now, Senator, are you gonna come after me? Are you going to try me because of my voice and what I said?"