Philly man charged with making telephone threats to GOP office in Montgomery County
Edward Cieri Jr. told a GOP staffer in a telephone call on Saturday that he would “shoot the place up” or “blow it up,” according to the police complaint for his arrest.
A 39-year-old Philadelphia man was arrested and charged with making telephoned threats against a staffer and the office of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said Wednesday.
Edward Cieri Jr. was charged with making a bomb threat, two counts of terroristic threats, and harassment for comments he allegedly made in a telephone call to the GOP office in Whitpain Township on Saturday morning.
Court records on Wednesday night did not show if Cieri had posted his $35,000 bail. He has a scheduled court appearance on Nov. 14.
Cieri called the office and asked the staffer who answered the phone if he was a Republican, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Cieri’s arrest. When the staffer acknowledged that he was, Cieri called him a slur, according to the affidavit.
The staffer responded by mocking Cieri, who then got upset and threatened to “shoot the place up” or “blow it up,” according to the affidavit. Whitpain police said they traced the call to a phone listed to Cieri’s mother. Police went on Monday to speak with Cieri, who acknowledged he made the call to the GOP office because he was angry about politics, according to the probable cause affidavit.
“This defendant crossed the line into criminal behavior when he threatened to physically harm a political staffer and threatened violence against a political office,” Steele said in a statement.
“That criminal behavior will not be tolerated in Montgomery County. We are committed to a fair, safe and free election, and all of Montgomery County law enforcement is committed to acting swiftly to investigate any threat of violence related to this election and arrest the individuals involved.”
In an interview over the weekend, Christian Nascimento, chair of the Montgomery County GOP, said the staffer works for former President Donald Trump’s campaign and was alone in the office space that the county party shares with campaign staff when he got the call shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday. Out of “an abundance of caution,” the office closed, Nascimento said.
Cieri was ordered not to have contact with the staffer, to stay away from all Republican committee offices, and not to possess firearms, the District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.