US judge orders suspect detained for threatening to kill Richard Grenell

The suspect harassed Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell for 'months' and lied about his identity, Fox News has learned.

Ambassador Richard Grenell, Kennedy Center president, speaks at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors Medallion Reception at the U.S. Department of State on Dec. 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

They also noted that Halligan, who Trump installed as U.S. attorney for EDVA earlier this year, attended the arraignment.

Halligan attended the proceedings, but did not play a formal role, Fox News Digital confirmed.

The Justice Department also shared a victim statement from Grenell with Fox News Digital that was read aloud in court. 

"In my current role as a presidential envoy, I have been attacked and harassed by people who don't know me and who simply want to leave nasty, rude and angry messages because I don't share their political viewpoint," Grenell said in the statement.

"But I strongly believe it is their right to be bitter and angry. I understand the passion. And I think the freedom to be rude and angry is a cherished right."

"But today is much different," he said. "Today we are dealing with someone who went far beyond sharing his angry opinion. Today we see a man who wants to kill someone because of their political differences."

"And as we have sadly learned from my friend Charlie Kirk's death, we must take talk of violence and calls for death seriously. "

"This individual crossed the line from sharing his viewpoint to wanting to shoot someone in the face because he disagrees with them politically. It is very troubling," he said, adding, "The people doing what he is doing, and there are many, must be given clear instructions from community leaders that their calls for shooting people in the head will have swift and severe consequences. Unstable people are watching what we do today."

Notably, the determination to hold Bolger in pretrial detention was made by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick. 

Fitzpatrick most recently made headlines for issuing scathing broadsides against DOJ for its handling of grand jury materials in the Comey case, which he said, last month, presented "irregularities" that "may rise to the level of government misconduct."

The suspect's arrest comes at a time when threats and intimidation aimed at high-profile figures across all three branches of government have appeared to escalate.

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Polls have shown that people believe political violence is on the rise in the wake of Kirk's assassination, the murder of two Minnesota Democratic lawmakers and violence toward immigration enforcement officials.

Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/prewritefbi-nabs-suspect-accused-threatening-kill-ric-grenell