Brian Gaherty, 60, is accused of leaving additional threatening messages for Rep. Maxine Waters and other congresswomen of color.
via: BET
Authorities arrested Brian Michael Gaherty of Houston on April 13. He appeared Monday (April 17) at a detention hearing and was expected to be released after posting a $100,000 bond.
According to The Hill, Gaherty, 60, appears to identify as White in one of the voicemails.
“Hey, you Black [expletive]. You [expletive] with my people man,” Gaherty allegedly said in one of the messages, accusing Waters, an 84-year-old lawmaker who is outspoken on civil rights issues, of causing controversy by “trying to remember 1960,” according to an affidavit given by a U.S. Capitol Police agent.
Authorities began investigating the messages in November 2022 after a staffer in Waters’ office spoke with Gaherty.
“Tell Congresswoman Maxine Waters when I see her on the street I’m going to bust her upside her head,” Gaherty allegedly said.
Gaherty is also suspected of leaving at least 11 voicemails threatening two other congresswomen of color since September 2022.
Investigators traced the calls through T-Mobile and TracFone to Gaherty, who didn’t conceal his phone number.
This isn’t the first time that Waters has received threatening and racist messages. In 2021, Michael Anthony Gallagher, then 71, was charged with sending threatening mail to Waters that included a death threat and racist slur signed on behalf of the Ku Klux Klan.
