An Oklahoma man is facing nine felony charges for making death threats against Senate Majority Leader John Thune and members of his family.
David Shuck, 63, appeared in federal court in Tulsa on Thursday after a grand jury there returned an indictment charging him with making threats against Thune and his family by phone on three separate occasions in March, court records show.
Prosecutors did not seek pretrial detention for Shuck. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Steele ordered Shuck released on a $10,000 bond.
A spokesperson for Thune’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A court-appointed defense attorney for Shuck declined to comment.
The indictment does not allege a particular motive for the threats beyond describing them as retaliation “on account of the performance of [Thune’s] official duties.”
However, a Justice Department press release described the case as part of an initiative related to an order President Donald Trump signed last September, known as NSPM-7, targeting “domestic terrorism and organized political violence.” Trump’s order focuses on the threat posed by Antifa, a broad umbrella term for far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists that the order describes as individuals endorsing “violence to achieve policy outcomes.”
Critics have warned that NSPM-7 encourages law enforcement to target Trump administration opponents engaged in lawful protest and paints Antifa as an organized entity when it is a vague label applied to a wide range of dissenting groups and people.
Court records show that Shuck pleaded guilty in 2012 in the same federal court to charges related to operating a large-scale marijuana growing facility. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
