(The Center Square) – Law enforcement officers said political rhetoric prompted a man to make death threats against U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and his son-in-law..
The Butts County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Buffalo, N.Y., to arrest Anthony Lantrell Bennett on two counts of terroristic threats.
Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said the threats stemmed from an online article that wasn’t true. He did not specify which one.
“I understand politics. I understand disagreements. But there is a line that cannot be crossed,” Long said in a statement. “Threatening to kill a public official or his family is not politics – it is a criminal act, and we will take it seriously and hold those responsible accountable just as we did in this case.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., has accused Collins’ son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, of having ties to white nationalism. He also said a former Collins aide was involved in trying to get a Holocaust denier out of jail. Collins said in an interview with WCTV that he has “always condemned hate speech, antisemitism, always condemned them. I don’t care where the source is.”
A spokesman for Ossoff said when asked by The Center Square for a response to Bennett’s arrest that “Sen. Ossoff condemns all threats of violence.”
Collins accused Ossoff of playing an “irresponsible game.”
“When you mix false accusations with inflammatory rhetoric, it fuels the lunatics who want to settle political disagreements with violence,” Collins said on social media. “My opponent should be condemning political violence, not whipping it up. He should apologize, retract his false attacks, and campaign on the issues affecting Georgians.”
Polls show Ossoff is leading Collins just a month before the Nov. 3 election. The latest survey from Wedgewood Polls of 600 Georgians shows Ossoff leading with 55% to Collins’ 45%, with a 4% margin of error, according to 270towin.com.
Ossoff and Collins will have their first debate on Thursday night.