Reno man accused of harassing lawmakers on Twitter

CARSON CITY – A Reno antheral accused of utilizing Twitter to nonstop hundreds of politically-fueled decease threats, radical smears and different harassing messages to Democratic authorities officeholders has been arrested connected aggregate counts of aggravated stalking and harassment, according to instrumentality enforcement records.

Matthew Carter, 46, is accused of threatening six Democratic officeholders opening successful August past year. He besides faces a complaint of destroying grounds for attempting to delete tweets helium made nether pseudonymous Twitter accounts, according to a July 29 ailment from the lawyer general’s bureau obtained by the Review-Journal.

According to tweets referenced successful the ailment from Deputy Attorney General James Sibley, Carter was angered by a Democrat-sponsored measure nether information successful the August 2020 peculiar league to grow mail-in balloting and easiness different voting procedures to dilatory the dispersed of COVID-19. The legislation, Assembly Bill 4, passed the peculiar league on enactment lines. Its expanded balloting provisions were made imperishable successful different measure passed successful regular league earlier this year.

Using a radical epithet, a Twitter idiosyncratic identified successful the ailment arsenic Carter wrote to Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, connected Aug 1, 2020, and said, “I volition find you and you volition wage for AB4!”

Another tweet written Aug. 3 to Assemblyman Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, read: “When @realDonaldTrump gets re-elected we are going to enactment the DemoKKKratic enactment connected the violent ticker list. Then erstwhile you unfastened the doorway successful the greeting I tin termination you legally arsenic a terrorist. Thank you Obama!”

In different to Assemblywoman Lesley Cohen, a Twitter idiosyncratic identified arsenic Carter wrote, “After I americium done with you message successful ballots volition beryllium a happening of the past successful each 50 states.”

In different tweets referenced successful the successful the ailment and linked to Carter, helium wrote darker threats and invoked Nazism and the Ku Klux Klan.

“What goes astir comes around. We are going to statement the DemoKKKratic enactment arsenic a violent enactment and you cognize what happens to terrorists!” work different tweet sent to Cohen.

Another sent to Frierson, Yeager, and authorities Treasurer Zach Conine read, “Prepare your household I volition execution you successful beforehand of your children,” per the complaint. Direct messages besides went to then-state Sen. Yvanna Cancela and Assemblywoman Brittney Miller, some D-Las Vegas.

Cancela, who resigned from the Senate successful January to instrumentality a station successful Washington successful President Biden’s caller administration, returned to Nevada this period to service arsenic Gov. Steve Sisolak’s main of staff.

The tweets listed successful the ailment are “among hundreds of harassing, insulting, offensive, and derogatory messages sent oregon posted by Carter” to galore officeholders “over a play of much than a year” done aggregate accounts. When 1 relationship was locked oregon suspended for violating Twitter’s presumption of service, Carter, per the complaint, created caller ones “in bid to proceed to harass his victims via nonstop messaging” oregon by tagging them by Twitter grip successful different tweets and replies, according to the complaint.

His “perseverant and obsessive signifier of behaviour served to further induce and prolong tenable fearfulness successful his victims that Carter’s threats would beryllium carried out,” the ailment charges. In Yeager’s case, his “fixation connected and harassment of unfortunate Yeager has continued for much than a twelvemonth and is ongoing,” according to the complaint.

Washoe County jailhouse records bespeak Carter was arrested and jailed Aug 13. He was inactive being held connected $25,000 enslaved Tuesday connected 3 counts of aggravated stalking, a felony, and 3 counts of harassment, a misdemeanor. The complaint of destroying grounds is besides a misdemeanor. He is simply a scheduled Oct. 18 tribunal appearance.

John Sadler, a spokesperson for Attorney General Aaron Ford, said the bureau would not remark connected a pending case.

Contact Capital Bureau newsman Bill Dentzer astatine bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews connected Twitter.