A college student charged with threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) made his first court appearance this week. He claims he was drunk when he made the call.
Allan Poller, 23, is a student at Keene State College in New Hampshire. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Poller left a threatening voicemail for Gaetz at approximately 12:20 a.m. March 29.
“Hi, my name is Allan Poller, A-L-L-A-N P-O-L-L-E-R, phone number []8931. And I just want to let you know, Representative [Name], if you keep on coming for the gays, we’re gonna strike back and I guarantee you, you do not want to fuck with us. We will kill you if that’s what it takes. I will take a bullet to your f***ing head if you f*** with my rights anymore. And then if you want to keep going down that path, you know who’s next,” said Poller, per the DOJ.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit cited by NBC 5 Boston revealed that Poller allegedly told investigators he was “emotional and intoxicated” when he made the call. Although neither the DOJ nor NBC named Gaetz as the recipient of the call, WMUR did.
“A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, confirmed to News 9 that his office received the threat,” said the outlet.
In the past, Gaetz supported bipartisan legislation that removed a ban on LGBTQ+ couples adopting children, according to Equality Florida.
However, he also voted against the “Respect for Marriage Act” last year to codify same-sex marriage.
“Today I voted NO on H.R. 8404 – the erroneously named ‘Respect for Marriage’ Act. In a fit of hysteria triggered by one sentence in a concurring opinion by Justice Thomas, Democrats have moved to introduce a bill codifying Obergefell v. Hodges,” he said in a tweet.
In a follow up tweet, Gaetz said “Gay marriage doesn’t offend me nearly as much as offending federalism does through this legislation.”
Last month, the Human Rights Campaign noted Gaetz’s joke about President Joe Biden asking what pronouns the Chinese spy balloon had before shooting it down.
Poller was charged with “transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another,” for his call to the congressional office in Washington D.C. and he made an appearance in federal court in Concord, Mass., at 3 p.m. Monday, said the DOJ. He could face a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
“The details contained in the charging documents are allegations,” said the DOJ. “The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
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