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Man Accused Of Threatening Rep. Davis In Voicemail

Rodney Davis speaks
Ryan Denham
/
WGLT
A Rockford man allegedly left a voicemail for Rep. Rodney Davis threatening to shoot the representative.

A central Illinois man was arrested Thursday after allegedly leaving a threatening voicemail at the office of U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis.

A criminal complaint against Randall Tarr, 64, of Rochester alleges that Tarr called Davis' Decatur office on Nov. 25 and left a voicemail threatening to shoot the Republican congressman.

"I'm a sharpshooter," a transcript of the voicemail reads. "I could. I'd like to shoot your (explicative) head off you stupid (explicative)."

Rochester Police found Tarr at his residence later that day where he admitted to leaving the voicemail.

The criminal complaint indicates that Tarr, an Army veteran, does not own any firearms.

In an interview one day after the voicemail was left, Tarr told FBI agents that his anger was sparked by a commercial he saw about Davis.

"I just saw you (untelligible) on the TV. You backing the Russians, boy? What's wrong with you?" Tarr said in the voicemail transcribed in the complaint."I was in the military for eight years, and you (explicative) are backing the Russians over our own intelligence? What is wrong with you Rodney? Oh my God. I'm not voting for you next time."

Davis referenced the threat during an Open Government event in Normal on Nov. 25. He said aggressive attack ads on TV were poisoning public discourse.

Tarr is charged with one count of communication of threat to injure a person, which carries a sentence of up to five years, and one count of making a threat to a federal official, which has a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Tarr is due back in court in Springfield on Dec. 17. He was released from custody but is being monitored under home detention.

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