Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday announced the arrest of a man accused of threatening to kill conservative commentator Benny Johnson, in what authorities say was a disturbing copycat plot inspired by the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Authorities arrested George Isabel Jr. after he allegedly mailed a letter threatening to make “orphans” of Johnson’s children just days after Kirk’s assassination, Bondi told reporters during a press conference in Tampa, The New York Post reported.
“Benny received a letter at his home where he and [his wife] Kate are raising their beautiful, beautiful young family,” Bondi said outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The author of this letter made it very clear that he hated Benny because of his views and he wanted Benny dead.”
Isabel is charged in federal court with mailing threatening communications. If convicted, Bondi said, the man — whom she described as a “left-wing radical” — will face prison time.
Standing beside Bondi, Johnson revealed chilling details about the letter’s contents and the political hatred behind it.
“The individual who wrote me described why he wanted me dead: I was a white, cis, Christian Trump supporter,” Johnson said. “They described in great detail how I would be killed in an open field just like Charlie. How much blood would come out of my head and neck when it would come off.”
“This individual described orphaning my four children and widowing my beautiful wife with great joy,” he said.
Bondi said the arrest was part of a broader effort to crack down on politically motivated threats and violence.
“We cannot allow this political violence to continue any longer,” she said. “This arrest will serve as a reminder to many — do not do this, we will find you.”
Bondi added that there are “open cases all over this country” involving similar threats, and that federal investigators are working to track down every suspect involved.
“This guy thought he got away with this, and he thought he could hurt Benny and his family, and it’s not going to happen,” she said.
The arrest comes as the Trump administration intensifies efforts to combat political extremism, with a renewed focus on groups such as the far-left “Antifa” movement. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday the group is “just as sophisticated” as Hamas, ISIS, and MS-13.
President Trump designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization late last month following Kirk’s death.
Johnson, who was close friends with Kirk, said he wants to continue the late activist’s legacy of open debate — without living in fear.
“I want peace in my nation, I love this country. I want to be able to raise my family in peace — that is our birthright,” Johnson said. “But you cannot make peace with evil as a Christian, you cannot unite with people who want you dead.”
“I want unity in this nation, I want to be able to agree on more than what we disagree on,” he said. “But for that first to happen, we must understand the battle we are fighting, good versus evil, darkness versus light.”
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while debating students during his “American Comeback” speaking tour at Utah Valley University. The alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, 22, was described by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox as “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”