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Palo Alto man arrested over alleged threats of violence to U.S., state reps

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Published  September 7, 2024 3:08pm PDT
Crime and Public Safety
KTVU FOX 2

The Brief

    • A U.S. House rep and a Florida State rep. were threatened via Instagram by a Palo Alto man
    • It's unclear the relationship between the two politicians, who were not identified
    • The South Bay man threatened to shoot up the politicians' offices

PALO ALTO, Calif. - One Palo Alto man is behind bars over his alleged recent threats against a sitting U.S. Congresswoman and a Florida State representative, according to federal authorities. 

The Department of Justice reported Wednesday that 22-year-old Aaditya Chand of Palo Alto threatened to shoot up the offices of a U.S. House Representative and a State Representative of Florida by privately messaging them on Instagram back in February.

Federal authorities did not identify the politicians, only identifying them as "Victim 1" and "Victim 2." To Victim 1, Chand allegedly told the Congresswoman, "I'm gonna shoot up ur office tomorrow u Palestinian scum," in a direct message. Chand allegedly told the Florida rep, "I'm gonna bring a gun to ur place tomorrow and shoot u and ur staff."

The staff of the U.S. rep in Washington, D.C. received the direct messages, according to the criminal complaint. Federal agents interviewed Chand and saw the messages made to the Florida rep.

It's unclear if there's any relationship between the U.S. and state representatives or a possible motive.

Chand was charged with felony transmitting in interstate or foreign commerce a communication containing a threat to injure a person. 

The Source

  • Information for this report was sourced from the U.S. Attorney's Office-Northern District of California.