NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A Queens man was arrested and charged with threatening to kill former President Donald Trump, federal authorities said Monday.
Thomas Welnicki, 72, allegedly threatened Trump’s life both when he was president and after he’d left office, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Brooklyn federal court.
“I do not want to hurt anyone but I will stand up to fascism,” Welnicki allegedly told U.S. Capitol Police when he was voluntarily interviewed by them in July 2020.
The complaint alleges that Welnicki, of Rockaway Beach, “bragged about how easy it was for him to acquire a firearm” and told Capitol Police that if Trump lost the 2020 presidential election and “refused to step down,” he’d “acquire weapons” and “take him down.”
“I really hope God takes [Individual 1] out,” Welnicki allegedly said, according to the complaint.
Trump is only identified as “Individual 1” in the complaint, but a footnote says the person targeted was president from Jan. 20, 2017, to Jan. 20, 2021.
Prosecutors also allege that Welnicki threatened to kill a dozen Trump supporters, including members of Congress, in a January 2021 call to the Secret Service’s Long Island branch.
“I will do anything I can to take out [Individual 1] and his 12 monkeys,” Welnicki allegedly said. “If I had the opportunity to do it in Manhattan that would be awesome.”
Prosecutors said the threats continued in November 2021, when Welnicki called the Secret Service in New York City and repeatedly referred to Trump as “Hitler” and said he’d do “everything I can to make sure [Individual 1] is dead.”
Welnicki’s attorney, Deirdre Von Dornum, told the Daily News: “Mr. Welnicki intended no harm to anyone and posed no actual threat.”
“He was expressing how distraught he was at what he saw as the attempted murder of Lady Liberty,” Von Dornum said.
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