NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A Republican congressman from Long Island said Thursday that he has been receiving death threats after voting in favor of President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill.
Nassau police confirmed Thursday night that Kenneth Gasper, 64, of Lake Ronkonkoma, was arrested Wednesday for making the threat over the phone toward Rep. Andrew Garbarino after calling the congressman's Massapequa Park office.
Garbarino, who represents New York's 2nd congressional district, was one of only 13 House Republicans who voted "yes" on the package, which passed Congress late last Friday.
He told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall that while he has received praise and thanks from some Long Island residents, he has also been the victim of numerous threats.
"A specific person called the office and said they were going to kill me. We've also had people visiting the office, making scenes, banging on doors," Garbarino said.
Speaking about the alleged threat Friday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Gasper "used some profanity and then he made a threat, and it went like this 'I'm going to kill him.'"
"This threat initiated a collaborative investigation between the Nassau County Police Department, Special Investigations Squad and the Capitol Police," Ryder said. "We have a zero tolerance for this type of behavior."
Gasper, a retired Long Island Rail Road worker, has been charged with aggravated harassment and was arraigned Thursday.
"The judge issued a stay away order for the individual against both the congressman and his staff," Ryder said. "He has no prior arrests, he has no gun permits and there was no weapons when we searched the home."
Gasper's attorney in a statement said, "Ken is an ordinary American who was offended when politician Garbarino became an overnight Democrat and voted, in Ken's view, to wreck our country. He conveyed his chagrin to an unseasoned telephone aide in Mr. Garbarino's office. Ken never made any threat. He will plead that he is innocent. I'll do my usual work, and true justice will resolve this matter for this grandfather with a spotless record. Mr. Garbarino can rest at ease."
The threats have prompted police to add extra patrols outside the 37-year-old lawmaker's Long Island home.
"It's scary. The fact that the police are at my house and going through documents and everything with me it's something you don't really want to have to add to your daily repertoire," Garbarino said. "I definitely don't want people calling in death threats to me, but it seems that when one comes in we have to call the police and hopefully they can prosecute the people."
He believes misinformation is the cause of the anger.
"With social media and people being able to say whatever they want it allows that anger to grow and lies to be spread," Garbarino said. "The way some of my colleagues in Congress are selling it they're making it sound like this was the reconciliation bill, the socialists. I don't understand how paving a road is socialist. It's not. So the misinformation is getting people so angry, even my father was angry until I explained it to him."
Garbarino is standing by his vote, saying it was an easy "yes" because he believes it will help the people of Long Island.
"When people say, 'Oh you gave the Democrats a win,' I say, 'No, I gave my district a win,'" Garbarino said.
In addition to jobs being created, Garbarino said the Long Island Rail Road, roadways, and airports stand to benefit from the bill.
"I can't wait for certain roads that needed to be raised since Sandy are finally going to get raised... there are areas that were under water in Sandy that still have not been fixed," Garbarino said. "I can't wait to be at half of the ribbon cuttings for these big projects."
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer held a press conference on Wednesday at the LIRR station in Massapequa Park where he announced the railroad will get at least $1.5 billion for accessibility advancements and other improvements.
"We're here to tell Long Island commuters whether they travel via train, car, bus or any other way they're going to start seeing a lot of local progress," Schumer said. "There's a record amount of money here for Long Island infrastructure."
About $21 million will also be invested in MacArthur Airport and money will also go toward improving the Long Island Expressway and Meadowbrook Parkway.
"This is a record deal, this is a once-in-a-generation investment in Long Island and New York," Schumer said. "Not only is it going to make our commute easier, it's going to create thousands of good paying jobs, union jobs, that means they're good paying. That's the kind of jobs we like on Long Island."
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