Selah man charged with threatening Sen. Murray

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The man accused of threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is described by neighbors as a quiet retiree with health problems.

“Something must have made him snap,” said Beverly Powers, who lives next door. “Everybody is angry about the health-care thing, but you don’t threaten anybody.”

Before Tuesday, Selah police knew little about 63-year-old Charles Alan Wilson except that he was a longtime resident.

“Until this time, Mr. Wilson was not on our radar for any activity,” Selah Police Chief  Stacy Dwarshuis said.

Wilson was arrested early Tuesday by federal authorities who say he left a string of obscenity-laced phone threats at Murray’s Seattle office over nearly two weeks ending Sunday.

Wilson is accused of leaving multiple threatening voice- mail messages between March 22 and Sunday, apparently motivated by his anger over the health-care reform bill recently passed by Congress.

According to court records, the caller had left messages for several months, but Murray’s office became alarmed at one left March 22, shortly after the health care bill passed.

“I hope you realize, there’s a target on your back now. There are many people who want you dead.... It only takes one piece of lead. Kill the (expletive)  senator. Kill the (expletive) senator. I’ll donate the lead.”

In the most recent message, the caller said he was among about 120 people who peacefully protested Murray’s visit to Yakima last week, according to federal court documents.

“Yeah, we were outside waiting for you,” the caller said in a voice-mail message left Sunday.

Organizers of that protest said they didn’t know Wilson and condemned the threats.

Wilson, who faces felony charges for the alleged threats, made his first appearance in U.S. District Court on Tuesday in Yakima.

Slightly stooped with a wiry build and ear-length dark sandy hair, Wilson wore a long-sleeved button-up tan shirt and blue jeans. He calmly responded to the judge’s questions and declined to have the government’s statements read aloud during the 10-minute hearing.

“I understand the charge,” said Wilson, who accepted a public defender.

 An April 21 hearing is set for Wilson in Seattle’s federal court, where he is expected to be formally charged with threatening a federal official.  Wilson, who does not have a criminal record in Washington, is being held in the Yakima County jail. A Friday court hearing will determine whether he will be released.

The calls to Murray’s office came from a blocked number and often were made in the evenings or on weekends.

Among allegations in a 10-page court document, authorities say Wilson left this on a voice-mail message Sunday: “I wish you the (expletive) pain and suffering I am going through. ... I hope you had the worst (expletive) Easter of your entire (expletive) life. We are coming after you, (expletive) taking you out of (expletive) office.”

Murray’s office told the FBI that it had been receiving harassing messages from the caller for months, but they became more threatening as Congress was voting on health care legislation.

Murray, the No. 4-ranking Democrat in the Senate and the highest-ranking woman in the majority leadership, has been a staunch advocate of health-care reform.

After the legislation passed, several lawmakers, mostly Democrats, reported receiving threats and also some incidents of vandalism at their offices. Wilson is the second person in the country to be arrested for making death threats against a member of Congress in recent weeks.

On March 23 — the day President Obama signed the bill into law — a phone message to Murray’s office included this: “I hope somebody kills you, and I hope somebody kills (the President).”

Court documents say the FBI traced the calls to Wilson’s home phone. Investigators say he told an undercover agent that he regularly carried a firearm and was “extremely upset” over the passage of the health bill, according to court documents.

Wilson has a .38-caliber revolver registered to him and has a concealed carry permit, according to the FBI.

To confirm Wilson was the caller, an FBI agent telephoned him and posed as a member of Patients United Now, a group working to repeal the health care legislation, the statement said.

According to an excerpt of the conversation, Wilson allegedly confirmed he repeatedly called Murray as well as Washington’s other Democratic senator, Maria Cantwell. He then stated: “I do pack, and I will not blink when I’m confronted. ... It’s not a threat, it’s a guarantee.”

In an earlier message, the caller said he was not a tea party member, nor a Republican or Democrat.

Agent Fred Gutt in the FBI’s Seattle office said calls to Cantwell’s office were investigated, but no charges are likely to result.

“The calls there, in general, were not deemed threatening,” Gutt said.

Organizers of Thursday’s protest outside the Red Lion Hotel in Yakima said they’ve never heard of Wilson. Murray spoke at a luncheon inside the hotel to the Greater Yakima Chamber of Commerce.

“I’ve never heard of a Charlie Wilson, and I know he’s not on any membership lists we have,” said Kirk Groenig, an organizer of Remember Us, We the People. “Anybody that would make a death threat against anybody is stupid.

“As a tea party group, even when we do rallies we want people to be respectful. This is crazy.”

The protest was calm, local police say. No confrontations occurred between so-called tea partiers who oppose the Health Care Reform Act and counterprotesters there in support of Murray.

Chamber president Mike Morrisette said Murray didn’t ask for any extra security measures, but his organization took additional precautions.

At the chamber’s request, Washington State Patrol conducted a sweep of the building with dogs, and several additional officers were on hand.

“There was a lot of passion and folks who were protesting and so forth, so we just took the normal precautions we would for any situation like that,” Morrisette said.

Murray’s office declined to comment on the arrest, citing the ongoing investigation.

Republican Party officials in Washington state condemned the threats against Murray. A statement from the office of Dino Rossi, considered a possible challenger to Murray this year, said he was “horrified” by the reported threats and “prays for Sen. Murray’s safety, and condemns any threats made to any public official.”

Wilson was arrested at his one-story yellow ranch-style house in the 800 block of West Barlett Avenue on Selah. An American flag flew over the garage, and wind chimes jingled softly over his porch.

Neighbors on the quiet street said they knew little about Wilson, except that he grew up in Selah, lives alone with two dogs and keeps to himself.

Powers said he lived on a fixed income and recently had major health expenses for his teeth. Another neighbor said Wilson developed carpal tunnel syndrome from his work as a carpenter.

She added that Wilson, who has three grown sons, has never given her any trouble.

“I tell my kids to treat others the way you want to be treated, and Charlie has never treated me wrong,” Powers said. “He’s the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. I know he’s helped his kids out before.”

If convicted of the charge of threatening a federal official, Wilson faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Wilson is the second person accused recently of threatening a member of Congress.

A 38-year-old Philadelphia man was arrested last month for allegedly threatening Republican House Minority Whip Eric Cantor in Virginia. On Tuesday, prosecutors said Norman Leboon has multiple personality disorder and is not competent to stand trial.

A federal magistrate ordered Leboon to a prison hospital for psychiatric testing.• Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Download a copy of the complaint (WARNING: This PDF contains explicit language).