Associated Press

A Chicago man accused of threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake because he was "tired" of the Republican "interrupting" President Donald Trump will face the federal charges in Arizona.

U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago said in a late Wednesday order that prosecutors in Arizona, where a grand jury indicted James Dean Blevins, didn't agree to transfer the case to Chicago.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that prosecutors alleged at a Tuesday detention that Blevins left a voice message at Flake's office, saying, "I am tired of him interrupting our president, and I am coming down there to take him and his family out." Blevins' lawyer said his client had been drinking.

Weisman said officials "need to be able to do their job without fear." But he freed Blevins, ordering him to report to Arizona.

The indictment filed Oct. 9 against Blevins doesn't fully identify the victim and instead refers to him as "United States Senator J.F."

In late September, Flake said his family received death threats after he asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to hear testimony from a woman who accused then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.

The indictment says the threat was made on Sept. 17 in Arizona and was done with the intent to "retaliate against such official on account of the performance of his official duties."

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