A Gastonia man appeared in federal court on Thursday on a charge of threatening President Joe Biden and others through phone calls to the White House and other agencies, a federal prosecutor said.
David Kyle Reeves, 27, of Gastonia was arrested on Feb. 5, but the criminal complaint wasn’t unsealed until the court hearing in Charlotte, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina.
The charge against Reeves carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine,
Authorities said Reeves made multiple phone calls to the White House switchboard between Jan. 28 and Feb. 1 and made threats against the president and others who were not identified in the news release. Reeves also made threats in phone calls to the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Capitol Police, officials said.
Court documents alleged that in one of the phone calls, Reeves threatened to kill everyone in the White House and added “I am going to chop your heads off.” He also told a Secret Service agent that no punishment would stop him and that it is not against the law to threaten people, officials said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler ordered Reeves to remain in custody. He is being held at the Mecklenburg County jail. Kevin Tate, the attorney assigned to represent Reeves from the Federal Defender's Office, couldn't be reached for comment on Thursday.
