BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. — A man accused of threatening the life of a Georgia congressman and his son-in-law is now in custody in New York, after investigators tracked him from Georgia to the Buffalo area.
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Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said Anthony Lantrell Bennett faces two felony counts of terroristic threats.
Long said his office received information from Congressman Mike Collins about a direct message sent through Instagram to Collins’ son-in-law, David Allen Scheer II.
The message included a threat to come to Jackson and harm Scheer and his father-in-law.
Investigators identified Bennett, a former Hampton, Georgia, resident who now lives in a Buffalo suburb, as the person allegedly behind the message.
The FBI’s Buffalo office offered assistance, and a Butts County investigator and GBI agent traveled to Buffalo as a search warrant was being prepared.
Long said an FBI surveillance team was watching Bennett’s location Friday morning. Before investigators could execute the search warrant, Bennett walked outside and was taken into custody without incident.
Only Channel 2 Action News obtained photos and video of the arrest.
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Long said Bennett told investigators that he had seen a story posted on Instagram that angered him, leading him to make the threat.
Bennett also told investigators he had no intention of hurting anyone.
Long said that does not change the criminal nature of the alleged threat.
“Threatening to kill a public official or his family members ... that’s not politics. That’s a criminal act,” Long said.
The sheriff said his office provided Collins and his family with the same added security it would provide to anyone else in the county who received a death threat.
Long said Butts County Lt. Matt Munger confronted Bennett about the words in his message after his arrest.
According to Long, Bennett acknowledged the message was a mistake and said he should never have done it.
Long expects Bennett to have an extradition hearing in Buffalo, New York, in the next couple of days.
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