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Amherst Man Sentenced for Threatening Lawmakers

Ryder Winegar, 34, of Amherst, pleaded guilty in federal court to six counts of threatening members of Congress and one count of transmitting interstate threatening communications, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced.

Winegar was indicted in February 2021 on six counts of threatening members of Congress and one count of transmitting interstate threatening communications. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2021 and has been in custody since his January 11, 2021 arrest.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Winegar left six voicemails at the offices of members of the United States Congress in the District of Columbia in the early morning hours of December 16, 2020. In some of the messages, Winegar identified himself by name or identified his telephone number. The voicemails threatened to hang the members of Congress if they did not “get behind Donald Trump.”

Following his arrest, investigators learned of a separate, e-mailed threat to a member of the New Hampshire State House of Representatives on December 14, 2020, in which Winegar threatened to pull the representative from his bed and hang him.

“While political expression is protected speech, threats to commit acts of violence constitute serious federal crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “By threatening to kill members of Congress and a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, this defendant sought to intimidate public officials. As this prosecution demonstrates, such conduct is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police with assistance from the United States Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Amherst Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.

“Ryder Winegar crossed a line when he threatened to hang six members of Congress, and a New Hampshire state lawmaker, if they didn’t conform to his beliefs. His actions, to which he admitted to today, are crimes, not protected speech,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “The FBI will ensure individuals who engage in criminal conduct with the intent on harming our public servants are held accountable.”