US Expat in Thailand Faces 10 Years for Threatening US Senator

[NanLaew]

4 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

How did they know he was flying to Atlanta?

 

That a serious question? In this age of advanced passenger notification? The system that American insecurity has forced on air travelers worldwide since before 9-11?

 

Seriously?

[quake]

Good job he was not in the uk and on Facebook.

He would be looking at a 50 year stretch for that.

[NanLaew]

2 hours ago, Sig said:

Interesting. Thanks for enlightening me. I had never heard before that the schools circulated pornography to the school children before, as they do now and even assign homework with pornographic books to children. I guess I hadn't kept up with the reality of the situation in thinking that school districts in the past didn't impose pornographic materials into the curricula making it, in some cases, required reading of the students, as some school districts have been revealed to have been doing lately. But, even if school officials or teachers widely circulated pornographic postcard sized pics to students in the 40's and 50's, I think you'll find that there is a MASSIVE difference between that and the pornography that the teachers and school districts have assigned to schools these days, with very explicitly graphic stories, with pictures. In particular, they prefer to promote homosexual pornography and to even explicitly encourage the students to explore for themselves what they are learning in the assigned homework. The kind of stuff you mention from the 40's and 50's is like kindergarten level compared to post grad university level pornography. Although, I admit that I had not heard of schools widely circulating pornography to their students in the 40's and 50's, I have EXTREME doubts that it bore any resemblance to the kind of pornography being assigned to students in these recent times.
Sorry to say that I also doubt your version of events, unless you are meaning to say that kids got their hands on these pictures and passed them among themselves, that it wasn't from the schools. Of course, that sort of thing has likely been going on for millennia. But that isn't the issue and nobody is arguing or doubting that. That's why I took it that you were comparing apples to apples and meant that pornography was being distributed by the schools back then too and not making a vain attempt to compare apples to oranges.

 

Good to see you calmly sat and reasoned your response instead of a doing one of those long, meandering, stream-of-consciousness, infernal wittering type posts.

 

Oh, wait...

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

You should do a TV commercial on that. 

 

I was almost in tears the first time I went to Pattaya thinking I was going to an exotic, unspoiled beach for a golf tournament.  I grew to like the place (well, Jomtien) but it was a shock the first time, especially with Friday traffic.

 

 

Screw the traffic. It's bad everywhere. How was Soi 6?

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, ignore it said:

The Republicans do have an aggressive email system. 

 

I sometimes get 20+ in a day.  There from everybody.  

 

Its not too bad.  At least Trump is offering flags,mugs, photos etc, but an email from some local politician running for dog catcher in El Paso promising to help make America safe again from illegal immigrant dogs is a bit much. 

 

I block the senders but new ones from the blocked ones go into spam. When I get a "blocked" again, I report them as Phishing.

 

Now if the wannabe dog catcher had an interesting t-shirt on offer I might be interested.

 

So much for sending Trump $5 the first time he ran.

 

To paraphrase Obama, "Donations have consequences,"

[NanLaew]

19 minutes ago, quake said:

Good job he was not in the uk and on Facebook.

He would be looking at a 50 year stretch for that.

Steady on there Nigel, there's nothing to indicate that this chap was shouting at a police dog.

[Chosenfew]

17 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

Yes, Senator Tillis is INDEED a "deranged nutcase".

Better be careful, FAFO…

[Cat Boy]

13 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

 

Turn off the pornograph.

I'm much more concerned about bullying, violence and school shootings resulting in dead toddlers than normal childhood nookie let alone so-called pornography. 

 

Better a safe, healthy live child than some trivial flirtation 

[Silencer]

E-mails "may" be a reason but more likely the reason is the US Embassy denied his Thai wife a visa. He then threatened the Embassy, specifically the Marine guards, and then later moved over to Senator Thillis and his staff, the White House and others. Saying you wish someone is dead vs. calling them and telling them you are going to kill them is a big difference. Apparently the US was considering extraditing him (but didn't) and when they were alerted he was coming to the US in 2023 they nabbed him at airport. Pleads quilty 3 days ago. I think the visa denial was what kicked this all off..and he went over the edge.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

10 minutes ago, Cat Boy said:

I'm much more concerned about bullying, violence and school shootings resulting in dead toddlers than normal childhood nookie let alone so-called pornography. 

 

Better a safe, healthy live child than some trivial flirtation 

 

Yes.

"Thoughts and prayers" just means that our representatives in congress have been bought by the gun lobby.

[Felton Jarvis]

42 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

 

That a serious question? In this age of advanced passenger notification? The system that American insecurity has forced on air travelers worldwide since before 9-11?

 

Seriously?

It turns out that he was apprehended in Thailand and flown to Atlanta. This was two years ago. STILL no word on how the case turned out. What was the sentence?

[newbee2022]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Photo courtesy of The Hill

 

In a troubling case intertwining political fervour and unlawful threats, Eric Charles Welton, a 53-year-old American living in Thailand, is facing up to 10 years in a US federal prison. This follows his reported admission to making death threats against US Senator Thom Tillis and his staff, spurred by frustrations over repetitive political emails.

 

According to the US Department of Justice, Welton has pleaded guilty to charges of threatening a federal official in connection with their duties. His sentencing is set for July, where he could face a substantial prison term for his actions.

 

The alarming saga unfolded with a series of aggressive phone calls. In September 2021, tensions peaked when Welton contacted Senator Tillis’s office in Raleigh, North Carolina, making vivid and violent threats. Among his menacing remarks, he reportedly threatened to “put a bullet through each of [their] heads” and “mow down” the entire state, prompted by dissatisfaction over unsolicited emails.

 

 

 

Daniel Bubar, Acting US Attorney, condemned Welton’s actions as both “despicable” and an “affront to our democratic system.” FBI Special Agent Robert DeWitt highlighted the severity of the threats, noting that such behaviour aims to erode democracy and will not be tolerated.

 

Senator Tillis, a Republican who has been subject to increased threats amid political tensions of the Trump era, has been proactive in countering intimidation. His office, releasing audio clips of threatening messages, pledged to take legal action against any attempts to target him or his team.

 

On April 10, Tillis's office expressed gratitude to law enforcement for their diligence and stressed the importance of accountability in an era where hostility towards public servants is becoming alarmingly common. Welton’s case serves as a stark reminder of the severe consequences tied to making violent threats against public officials, regardless of the motive behind them, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-04-11

 

 

The photo shows a "big mouth" but  obviously without brain.

[NoDisplayName]

1 hour ago, Felton Jarvis said:

What was the outcome and sentencing on this case???

 

Read the OP.

 

He pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing, potentially 10 years.

[NoDisplayName]

19 minutes ago, Felton Jarvis said:

It turns out that he was apprehended in Thailand and flown to Atlanta. This was two years ago. STILL no word on how the case turned out. What was the sentence?

 

He flew to the US on his own volition, was arrested in Atlanta.

Not a bright fellow.

 

Wheels of justice turn slowly, two years in the court system is not out of the ordinary.  He just pled guilty, there will be some more hearings and then sentencing.

 

And then the appeals process begins.

[thecyclist]

18 hours ago, jvs said:

How do you take pornography out of schools?

By banning all post pubescent boys with digital devices from attending school. 

[Toby1947]

3 hours ago, howlee101 said:

Most likely a retired Special Forces, Seal Team 6, Green Beret, covert ops CIA operative 

Also a billionaire living in Nirun Condo, with the obligatory, tattoos, earings. balding scalp adorning a ponytail. 🤣😅🤣

[Srikcir]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

threatening a federal official in connection with their duties.

No different than some of J6 who POTUS pardoned.

[connda]

Stupid is as stupid does.  Enjoy your vacation in federal prison.

[Terry Juhlin]

18 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

So this guy gets unsolicited emails from a Republican senator's office (probably espousing foul right-wing ideology about there only being two genders, or taking pornography out of schools, or seeking a donation), and this nut job decides that offing the entire Senate is the solution.

 

I wonder what his forum handle is? 

 

 

Can you define your definition of the sentence “foul right-wing ideology” for me?

[edwinchester]

18 hours ago, jvs said:

How do you take pornography out of schools?

Get rid of Bible Studies.

[NoDisplayName]

4 hours ago, Sig said:

As opposed to calling it "old news", thus making it seem irrelevant, I'd call it a great followup story.

 

It would have been an interesting followup story had the writer mentioned any of the history of the case.

 

It's up to us to find out what actually happened.  Assumption is this is something recent, that he was arrested in Thailand, possibly extradited.  Too much detail missing.

 

Had the journalist reached our level of google-fu, some of the background - like, you know, he was arrested on the charge two years ago, he's been held awaiting trial for two years, there were other interaction with the Chiang Mai consulate.........then it would have been more than a simple copy-paste of a DOJ press release.

 

 

[BangkokHank]

20 hours ago, johng said:

 

Sounds like a deranged nutcase to me.

You think he's a nut case? I'll show you a nut case. (I got it on a flight from Bangkok to Delhi a few days ago on IndiGo Airline.)

[jvs]

44 minutes ago, edwinchester said:

Get rid of Bible Studies.

For sure!

[impulse]

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Screw the traffic. It's bad everywhere. How was Soi 6?

 

I don't know that I've ever been on Soi 6, at least not after dark.  Nobody back home believes me, but that's not something I seek in LOS.

 

[thailand49]

If he was threatening a R Senator that assume he is a Democrat unhappy be contacted by a R!

[Kinok Farang]

21 hours ago, johng said:

 

Sounds like a deranged nutcase to me.

Just another dem who can't accept a real man is in charge of the country now.Should have scratched a few Teslas to ease his frustration like most cry-baby dems do for sport.

[spidermike007]

I definitely understand the hostility toward a Republican senator, as they're basically do nothing empty suits who are simply kissing butr at this point, but there is a limit, and anytime you make a threat against someone holding a federal position all bets are off, especially these days with the current justice dept.

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

He apparently lived in Pai 20+ years with his wife and kid.  His testimony is online.  Only scanned it but he appears to be accomplished and facing mental challenges, unlike many of the common posters here who are unaccomplished and mentally ill.

[blaze master]

8 hours ago, mania said:

My guess is T*g or J*******g 😅

 

Well gosh golly gee big fella. Couldn't possibly be the one he's just an average regular guy. Gee golly. Gosh darn it. 

 

Awww shucks. 

[Burma Bill]

22 hours ago, johng said:

 

Sounds like a deranged nutcase to me.

 

 

That is why he is living in Thailand along with many other nutcases from around the world!