Man Cyberstalked Congressman for Years, Wanted to Kidnap His Wife: DOJ

A man is accused of cyberstalking a U.S. Congressman for several years and making posts on social media saying that he wanted to kidnap the Representative and his wife.

According to a press release from the Department of Justice in the Northern District of Oklahoma, 39-year-old Keith Charles Eisenberger was recently charged with cyberstalking and making several threats to Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern.

The charges announced on Monday come after Eisenberger made several threats via phone calls and social media posts toward Rep. Hern, dating back to 2018.

In November 2018, Hern took office representing Oklahoma's first congressional district, which is when Eisenberger allegedly made "concerning" statements towards Hern and his family, the press release said. The statements towards Hern "became increasingly more violent over time," the U.S. Attorney's office said.

"He did so during visits and phone calls to the congressman's offices in Washington, DC, and Tulsa and on social media," the press release said.

According to the criminal complaint, in one of Eisenberger's most recent social media posts from May 11, 2022, he allegedly stated that he wanted to "kidnap Hern and his wife," and discussed how he wished that "harm would come to the congressman's family."

However, there were several similar incidents prior to May 11, 2022, that included Eisenberger allegedly making threats toward Rep. Hern.

"In January 2019, Eisenberger appeared in the Washington, DC offices, yelling and demanding to see Hern. He later allegedly told U.S. Capitol Police special agents that he was angry with the Hern because Eisenberger believed he was elected illegally," the press release said.

Additionally, while at Hern's Washington D.C. office in 2019, Eisenberger also claimed that he should have been considered for Hern's seat in congress. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eisenberger told U.S. Capitol Police officers that he booked a one-way ticket to the Capitol and would not leave until Hern resigned.

In a social media post from November 2020, Eisenberger allegedly "suggested that the congressman and the state of Oklahoma deserved to be 'federally executed' and that if that was not feasible then the resignation, death or expulsion of Hern was acceptable," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The criminal complaint also alleges that in a social media post from 2021, Eisenberger bragged that he was going to attack the congressman in public. According to the press release, Eisenberger was charged with threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder a United States official; threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder an immediate family member of a United States official, and cyberstalking.

Newsweek reached out to Rep. Hern's office for comment.