Philly man accused of threatening to kill Western Pennsylvania political party worker over poll watching duties
A Philadelphia man is accused of threatening to kill and skin alive a state political party employee from Western Pennsylvania if the political worker did not respond to his request that he serve as a poll watcher in the upcoming presidential election.
The suspect, John C. Pollard, 62, is accused of sending a series of four text messages on Sept. 6 to the party worker, which included a death threat and a threat to skin the person alive, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Pollard was charged Oct 16 with one count of interstate threats, which could result in a maximum five-year prison term and a fine of up to $250,000, according to prosecutors.
Investigators allege that Pollard sent the four text messages to the victim’s cell phone around 10 p.m. Sept. 6. Those messages were sent a day after the party worker had posted on a social media platform that the party was recruiting volunteers to observe the polls on Election Day and the worker would have to train any volunteer because a certificate is needed to assist inside the polls, according to the indictment.
None of Apple’s service and data centers involved in the transmission of the messages were located within the state, the indictment said. One of the elements to prove interstate threats was that the communication was transmitted in interstate commerce, in addition to proving it was a true threat, according to court documents.
The indictment and court documents do not identify the victim or the political party. The indictment does not reveal whether Pollard or the victim’s political affiliation.
The FBI office in Pittsburgh investigated, but Bradford Arick, a FBI spokesman in Pittsburgh, declined to comment on an open investigation.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the case is part of Justice Department’s task force on election threats, which was launched in June 2021, about 18 months after the attack by Trump supporters on police protecting the U.S. Capitol against a mob threatening to disrupt the process of counting Electoral College votes to certify the 2020 presidential election.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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