A Philadelphia man was arrested on Monday after threatening to kill and “skin alive” a state political party worker who was working to recruit poll watchers ahead of the 2024 election.
In a Monday press release, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that 62-year-old John Pollard sent “threatening text messages to Victim 1” on September 6. While “Victim 1” was not identified in the press release, the Justice Department described the victim as “a representative of a state political party who was recruiting official poll watchers” ahead of the November election.
The Justice Department said the indictment against Pollard shows that the state political party worker had posted online on September 5 that they were recruiting volunteers to “help observe at the polls on Election Day” and shared their phone number online. The indictment says that Pollard allegedly texted the political party worker, “Hey [redacted]. I’m interested in being a poll watcher,” before sending multiple death threats.
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According to the Justice Department’s indictment, Pollard allegedly sent four text messages to the state political party worker between 10:01 p.m. and 10:11 p.m. on September 6. After claiming that he was “interested” in serving as a poll watcher in his first text, the 62-year-old sent a second message, saying, “I will KILL YOU IF YOU DON’T ANSWER ME!” Pollard also sent two follow-up messages, saying, “Your days are numbered, B-TCH!” and “GONNA F-CKING FIND YOU AND SKIN YOU ALIVE AND USE YOUR SKIN FOR F-CKING TOILET PAPER, YOU F-CKING KKK-NT!”
The indictment against Pollard claims that the Philadelphia man, “with the intent to communicate a true threat of violence, with knowledge that the communication would be viewed as a true threat of violence, and with recklessness as to whether the communication would be viewed as a true threat of violence, knowingly transmitted in interstate commerce through Apple’s iMessage platform a communication containing a true threat to injure the person of another; that is, Pollard threatened to kill and skin alive Victim 1.”
Monday’s press release noted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation Pittsburg Field Office is currently investigating Pollard’s case and that the case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force. According to the press release, Pollard could face a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison if he is convicted for the charge of transmitting interstate threats.
