Moreland sent the messages through Reid's congressional website. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Okla. man charged in Reid threats

An Oklahoma man has been charged with threatening Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his family, according to a complaint unsealed Tuesday.

Charles Jason Moreland is accused of threatening to kill Reid and his family in a series of mid-April messages directed to the Nevada Democrat through his congressional website. Moreland said that Reid is a “dead man” and that he will be “done” if he steps out of D.C., according to court documents.


“Don’t discount this message. … Harry Reid needs to resign immediately or face stern, harsh, unimaginable consequences to him and his family,” read one message allegedly sent by Moreland. “If he opens his mouth again, we will take action against him and his family immediately.”

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Those messages were posted using the name “Thomas Payne” under a false address but were traced back to Moreland by federal investigators, according to court documents. The 10-page complaint was filed July 25 and unsealed Tuesday after a judge’s order and made accessible via electronic case search.

Moreland was indicted last week on one count of threatening to murder a federal official, one count of threatening Reid’s family and one count of transmitting threats across state lines, according to court records.

The Associated Press first reported on the complaint.

The complaint also details other intimidating messages allegedly sent by Moreland to federal officials. According to court documents, Moreland was previously investigated by federal officials after sending an email to the White House in 2013 that threatened to kill people if monitoring of his phone and Internet communications did not cease.

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A Secret Service agent contacted Moreland and told him to stop making threats and take his medication.

Moreland also sent a series of threatening and angry, expletive-filled electronic messages through the website of Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) starting in September 2013 and ending in June. In one message, Moreland threatened to “hang” members of Congress and said he was “fully competent.”

An attorney for Moreland was not immediately available to comment. Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Reid, declined to comment on Moreland’s messages.

Threats made toward high-profile politicians are not altogether uncommon — and Reid himself was said to step up his security detail. He received threats in late April after the majority leader made tough comments about Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy during Bundy’s confrontation with the Bureau of Land Management.