Source: United States Department of Justice News
CONCORD – A Maine man has been federally charged in connection with posting a video on SnapChat that threatened the Portsmouth High School on April 12, 2023, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Kyle Hendrickson, 25, was charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another. A press release will be issued when an initial appearance in federal court is scheduled.
According to the charging documents, Hendrickson posted a video to his SnapChat account on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in which he brandished a handgun while in a vehicle outside of the Portsmouth High School. The video includes a text overlay that reads “imma shoot up the school.” School surveillance footage placed Hendrickson’s vehicle outside the high school at the time of the video.
Hendrickson was arrested yesterday on state charges. A subsequent state search warrant of the vehicle yielded an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, camouflage body armor, a handgun holster, a red-dot sight, and numerous rounds of ammunition. Investigators recovered another shotgun inside a residence associated with Hendrickson. Finally, a handgun that resembles the one used in the SnapChat video was recovered in a motel where Hendrickson had stayed on April 12, 2023.
The charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, and the Portsmouth Police Department led the investigation. The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Somersworth Police Department, the Portland (Maine) Police Department, and the Berwick (Maine) Police Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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