A South Carolina man was arrested Friday for allegedly sending racist death threats to a New York news reporter more than five years after she wrote about his previous gun arrest, according to federal authorities.
Austin Suman, 35, sent the unidentified Hispanic journalist based in Orange County a series of slur-ridden messages threatening to blow up her house and kill her family, according to the Southern District of New York US Attorney’s Office.
The Myrtle Beach native said he was incensed that the reporter had posted a photograph of him after he was arrested in February 2019 for threatening his roommate with a firearm, resulting in his guns being confiscated, the docs stated.
Suman told her on Nov. 8 that all his guns had been returned, writing ominously: “I have more guns than ever,” including “ful[ly] auto[matic].”
“I can blow your house off [its] foundation tread lightly,” read another message to the reporter, referred to as Victim 1 in the charging documents.
Suman also repeatedly attacked the reporter for being Hispanic and female.
“You are a dumb sp–k, we [are] coming for you,” he said in one, according to the feds. “I will end you and your family.”
“We are going to deport your family all of them . . . [u]seless life. Dumb bitch. I would drag you by your legs naked with my horse,” he allegedly wrote, also calling her a “dumb f–kin c–t” and a “dumb Mexican.”
“Guess what I have now? More [guns] than you or your family might know. F–king sp–ks.”
The messages were forwarded to authorities and Suman was arrested on Friday — with WMBF sharing video showing federal agents in an armored vehicle swarming his Myrtle Beach home.
He is charged with threatening interstate communications, willfully making a threat involving explosives and interstate stalking. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
“The charges against the defendant demonstrate our resolve to work at lightning speed to neutralize threats against the press — which serves a vital role in our democracy,” US Attorney Damien Williams said.
“To any individual who dares to cross the line and make hate-based threats against members of our press: you will be found, and you will be held accountable for your actions.”
