Six years after 12 people were killed in a mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, a former military member is accused of threatening the facility. Scott MacFarlane reports.
Nearly six years after a massacre at the Washington Navy Yard, federal investigators have charged a former U.S. Marine with making new threats against the facility.
According to court filings reviewed by News4, Anthony Reid is accused of making a series of threats, including one referencing a kill list, against the Navy Yard and one of its legal officials.
Federal prosecutors said Reid barricaded himself inside a New York apartment when they went to arrest him in late May. They seized an AR-15 rifle with a scope attached, according to court documents.
A judge has ordered Reid held in custody until trial on two federal charges of making threats. He’s pleaded not guilty. A court hearing is scheduled for July.
In court filings, federal prosecutors said Reid made the threats by phone, email and Facebook in May. Several were directed at a Navy official who handles legal complaints for Navy and Marine personnel, according to the filings. One of the messages referenced a kill list and said "I am going to hurt people," according to the court papers.
According to the court filings, Reid is accused of saying, "I am coming after you" and "You are going to pay for what you did," in a phone call with the Navy official. They also allege Reid wrote, "Do you like being able to live?" and "I will eliminate you all from my life," in emails to the official.
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In a separate message days later, Reid said, "None of my threats are true," according to court papers.
Prosecutors charged Reid shortly after Navy special agents arrested him in New York. According to court filings, Reid barricaded himself inside his apartment before agents could enter. Prosecutors wrote, "Due to safety concerns for one of the defendant's family members believed to have been inside the apartment at that time, law enforcement breached the apartment front door."
Federal agents seized an AR-15 rifle with a collapsible stock and attached scope from Reid's bedroom, according to court filings from prosecutors.
The Navy official who was allegedly threatened by Reid works for the Navy JAG office, which sits a few blocks east of the site of the 2013 massacre on the Navy Yard grounds in southeast Washington, D.C.
The September 2013 shooting at the Navy Yard killed twelve people and wounded three.
Reid's defense attorneys did not return requests for comment.
Navy investigators said they would not speak about a current investigation.
