A retired Army veteran allegedly threatened to shoot his wife and other people at the U.S. Capitol, where his wife works, and said he wanted "to die [by] suicide by cop," federal prosecutors said Thursday.
On Monday, Michael Bogoslavski, 33, texted threats to his wife, a Senate staffer, telling her that he planned to bring guns to her workplace and shoot her and others who got in his way, authorities said.
"Gun in each hand ... someone is going to be greaving [sic] for their family members today, including my family," the text messages read. "I'm going to come up there and shoot everyone in my [expletive] way]."
The employee later called Capitol Police. While the employee was speaking to them, Bogoslavski allegedly called the employee's cellphone and made more threats to shoot people and "to die [by] suicide by cop," federal prosecutors said.
Capitol Police alerted local law enforcement, and the Cheverly Police Department found Bogoslavski at his home. He was taken to a hospital, released the next day and then arrested.
He told investigators that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and was struggling to readjust to civilian life, according to court documents.
Police seized two loaded handguns and additional ammunition from his home.
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Bogoslavski, of Cheverly, Maryland, served in the U.S. Army for nine years and retired in March 2013, authorities said. He completed two tours in Iraq and a tour in Afghanistan.
He is charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure another person.
Bogoslavski made an initial appearance in federal court Wednesday and was ordered detained pending trial. He was represented by a federal public defender.
If convicted, Bogoslavski faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison before three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
