A New York man was arrested after allegedly threatening to kill Georgia Rep. Mike Collins and his son-in-law over an article he called inaccurate, federal authorities said.
Anthony Lantrell Bennett was taken into custody in Buffalo after investigators said he sent a terroristic threat aimed at the Georgia Republican and the congressman’s son-in-law.
The FBI and the Butts County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest Monday. Officials said the threat went out last week, and that Bennett admitted during interrogation that he sent it.
His stated grievance, according to the federal account, was an “inaccurate” online article he had read. Authorities did not name the piece, describe the message’s exact wording, or say what platform carried it.
The New York Post reported the joint announcement and the alleged motive tied to that online story.
Butts County Sheriff Gary Long did not treat the case as ordinary political heat.
Long said:
"I understand politics. I understand disagreements. But there is a line that cannot be crossed."
He added:
"Threatening to kill a public official or his family is not politics, it is a criminal act, and we will take it seriously and hold those responsible accountable just as we did in this case."
Collins, a Peach State Republican now running for the U.S. Senate, thanked the FBI, the Butts County Sheriff’s Department, and other law enforcement partners for moving quickly to protect his family.
The congressman also tied the episode to a wider climate of accusation and rage.
Collins said:
"No American should have to worry that their home could be the next Butler, Pennsylvania or Utah Valley University."
He went further on cause and effect:
"When you mix false accusations with inflammatory rhetoric, it fuels the lunatics who want to settle political disagreements with violence."
The second person named in the alleged threat was Collins’s son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II. In July, CNN reported that Scheer had previously shared antisemitic and white nationalist rhetoric. That earlier coverage is separate from the threat case, but it placed Scheer in the public fight around Collins.
Collins is challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. A Decision Desk HQ polling average has shown Ossoff with a nine-point lead. After the arrest news, Ossoff said he “condemns all threats of violence.” Collins has accused Ossoff of painting him as a “monster,” a charge Ossoff’s camp has not resolved in the material on this case.
No injuries were reported. Formal charge details, statutes, and the precise calendar dates behind “last week” and “Monday” were not released in the announcement package.
Lawful politics means ballots, arguments, and hard ads, not death threats against a member of Congress and his family. When someone crosses that line, arrest is the right answer, and leaders who traffic in maximalist smears own a share of the ugly climate that follows.
