'Hit Chris at his home': Georgia man arrested for death threats against FBI director

A man from Roswell, Georgia has been arrested after making death threats against FBI Director Christopher Wray.

According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, 34-year-old John Woodbury, who was originally indicted on July 9, faced arraignment on Thursday before a federal magistrate judge.

"On June 7, 2023, Woodbury allegedly posted a message on 4chan.org that threatened violence against FBI Director Wray and others," stated the release. "In his message, Woodbury made statements that included the following: 'Let’s show them what a [expletive] ‘Nazi’ […] looks like […]. It’s time to burn these [expletive] down and hang them from trees. Hit them where it [expletive] hurts. Hit Chris at his home. Make his family fear stepping one foot outside their [expletive] door.'"

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Wray is a Republican who was appointed to that role by former President Donald Trump. However, he has become a target of fury by the far right, both because he oversaw the agents who have continued investigations into the former president, and — as Woodbury alluded to in his messages — because he has treated domestic extremist groups as terrorists.

“Sending threats to physically harm a public official in an attempt to thwart the administration of justice is a criminal offense,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said. “Director Wray and other law enforcement officials work tirelessly to safeguard our freedoms and to protect our citizens from harm. Threats against such public servants, who have dedicated themselves to enforcing our criminal laws, is especially heinous. Our office will remain steadfast in helping to ensure that public officials are able to carry out their duties free from fear or intimidation.”

This incident is just the latest in a series of threats made on various legal officials, spurred on in part by Trump's attacks on any investigation or prosecution of himself as rigged. For example, a New York man was arrested earlier this year for making death threats against state Attorney General Letitia James and state Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw the former president's civil fraud case.