Elderly NY man charged with threatening to kill Donald Trump
NEW YORK - An elderly New York man is accused of plotting to kidnap and kill former President Donald Trump and several members of Congress. He allegedly outlined the threats in multiple interactions with the U.S. Secret Service.
72-year-old Thomas Welnicki of Rockaway Beach in Queens was charged Monday in the federal criminal complaint. He made his initial appearance via teleconference Monday afternoon in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The U.S. Secret Service says that Welnicki had bragged about how easy it was for him to acquire a gun and "take him down" when agents interviewed him in a July 2020 interview.
Thomas Welnicki appears in Federal Court in Brooklyn on Jan. 10, 2022. (Jane Rosenberg)
Then they said that on Jan. 4, 2021, Welnicki called the Secret Service's Long Island office and left two voicemails. In each, agents say, he threatened to kill Trump and 12 unnamed representatives and/or senators who support the former president.
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In September 2021 he called the New York Field Office and inquired about the Secret Service's protection of former U.S. presidents and their family, officials claim. He also allegedly asked what weapons the Secret Service used.
Again, in November, 2021, Welnicki is accused of calling a New York City Secret Service office three times calling Trump "Hitler" and saying "I will do everything I can to make sure (Trump) is dead."
In another call in December, he stated, "the new Civil war could break out and taking up arms against the government is justified when ballots don't matter."
The criminal complaint claims that Welnicki said that there was a $350,000 reward out to kill Trump and the other 12 elected officials.
He was being represented by Deirdre Von Dornum of the Brooklyn Federal Defenders office.