The federal case centers on what prosecutors described as a threat and a trail of related searches that started months earlier. Federal Aviation Administration contractor Dean DelleChiaie of Nashua, New Hampshire, is accused of using online research into assassination-related topics and then sending a message to the White House threatening President Donald Trump, according to court records cited by prosecutors.
Prosecutors said DelleChiaie sent the email on April 21 using his personal email account. In that message, he identified himself and told the recipient he was going to “neutralize/kill” the president, the charging materials said, and he is expected to make an initial court appearance Tuesday on the charge of interstate communication of a threat against the president.
The accusation came after earlier concern about his activity on an FAA computer. Police and U.S. Secret Service officers questioned DelleChiaie after searches were found on the computer where he worked, an FAA contractor role described as involving mechanical engineering.
According to the court documents, DelleChiaie used his work computer in January to look for information about how to get a gun into a federal facility. The filings also said he searched for the percentage of the population that wants the president dead, the location of the vice president’s home and the names of the vice president’s children.
After those searches, DelleChiaie asked FAA information technology staff to delete his search history, but prosecutors said the IT department instead reported the request to authorities. Court documents say that led to his suspension.
During an interview at his home on Feb. 3, Secret Service Special Agent Nathaneal Gamble wrote that DelleChiaie admitted to making the searches. The agent’s report said DelleChiaie was remorseful, and the documents described him as owning three guns and telling investigators he was depressed.
The filings also said DelleChiaie told investigators he was upset with the Trump administration but had no interest in assassinations. An attorney for DelleChiaie did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment, according to the report.
DelleChiaie was arrested Monday, the day he was taken into custody. The case was reported just over a week after a gunman tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives, an incident in which a Secret Service officer wearing body armor was shot but not seriously injured; Cole Tomas Allen has been charged in that attack.