NH man pleads guilty to threatening Congress by phone

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A New Hampshire man accused of threatening to kill members of Congress if they didn’t support former President Donald Trump has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Ryder Winegar, 34, of Amherst, pleaded guilty Friday to six counts of threatening members of Congress and one count of transmitting threatening communications across state lines, the U.S. attorney’s office said Monday.

Winegar was accused of leaving phone messages Dec. 16 threatening to hang lawmakers if they didn’t “get behind Donald Trump.” In some messages, he identified himself by name or left his telephone number, officials said.

After his arrest Jan. 11, investigators learned that he also sent a death threat via email to a state lawmaker.

“While political expression is protected speech, threats to commit acts of violence constitute serious federal crimes,” Acting U.S. Attorney Farley said in a statement.

Winegar is scheduled to be sentenced in December. His attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.