A New Hampshire man has been arrested and charged for allegedly sending threatening text messages to Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and voters attending a campaign event. The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Tyler Anderson of Dover, New Hampshire, was taken into custody after sending two alarming replies to a text message sent by Ramaswamy's campaign on Friday.

According to charging documents, Anderson's first message read, "Great, another opportunity for me to blow [the candidate's] brains out!" The second message stated, "I'm going to kill everyone who attends and then f**k their corpses." The Justice Department confirmed that the threats were directed towards Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy's campaign promptly notified the Portsmouth Police Department about the threatening messages, leading to an investigation by the FBI. The campaign's records indicated that the phone number associated with the messages belonged to Anderson. Law enforcement obtained a court-authorized search warrant and recovered Anderson's phone and firearms during a search of his residence on Saturday.

During a preliminary search of Anderson's phone, an FBI agent discovered the deleted text messages that matched the reports made by Ramaswamy's campaign. Furthermore, additional text messages were found, dating back to December 6, in response to a message from an unidentified presidential candidate. These messages displayed a similar threatening tone, with one stating, "Fantastic, now I know where to go so I can blow that b*****d's head off!" and another saying, "Thanks, I'll see you there. Hope you have the stamina for a mass shooting!"

Anderson was arrested on Saturday and confessed to sending the threatening texts not only to Ramaswamy but also to multiple other campaigns. He has been charged with one count of transmitting a threat to injure another person over state lines. If convicted, Anderson could face up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. attorney in New Hampshire.

Tricia McLaughlin, the press secretary for Ramaswamy's campaign, expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their swift response and emphasized the campaign's concern for the safety of all Americans. Ramaswamy proceeded with a breakfast town hall meeting in Portsmouth on Monday, accompanied by an increased security presence.

Tyler Anderson is expected to appear in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire, on Monday afternoon. No immediate comment was available from his public defender.

The incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by political candidates and the need for vigilant security measures to ensure the safety of both candidates and voters during campaign events.