A Kentucky man was sentenced to over two years in prison for making violent threats against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and other lawmakers.
“Benjamin Keebler, 55, of Florence, will serve two and a half years in federal prison, which was handed down in Covington by U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning,” Lexington Herald Leader reports.
Keebler pleaded guilty in March to cyberstalking and threatening communications.
man who threatened to shoot me sentenced to prison…https://t.co/mdO81LAfxg
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) August 17, 2026
More from Lexington Herald Leader:
While Massie, who represents Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, is not named in the court documents, prosecutors said Keebler made threatening calls and voicemails to numbers associated with Massie. That included calling Massie’s offices in Washington, D.C., which happened over more than a two-year period starting in 2023.
ADVERTISEMENTKeebler also threatened a senator, whose office is based in Nebraska, saying someone should do a “hammer visit” at the senator’s house. The senator is not named in the court documents.
Prosecutors said Keebler intended to harass Massie and his staff. In court filings, prosecutors said Keebler’s calls and threats were motivated by his disagreement with the lawmakers’ beliefs.
According to court documents, one of the calls Keebler made in 2025 was to ask about the date of Massie’s next town hall meeting so that he could “shoot (Massie) in the head.” A few months prior, Massie had introduced firearms legislation.
According to Daily Caller, an audio recording of one of Keebler’s threats allegedly referred to “deep state Massie.”
“Live by the gun. Die by the gun, boy,” Keebler allegedly said in a February 2023 voicemail, the outlet noted.
A Kentucky man was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison after threatening Rep. Thomas Massie and an unnamed U.S. senator over a period of more than two years.
Prosecutors said Benjamin Keebler threatened to shoot Massie in the head and told the senator’s office someone… pic.twitter.com/o2P0OxKU5Y
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 17, 2026
Daily Caller shared further:
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Boone said in court that Keebler’s threats to lawmakers are “inherently corrosive to a democratic society,” according to the Enquirer.
Voting registration records list Keebler as an independent, according to the Enquirer.
Keebler’s attorney, Marvin Knorr III, argued his client would not have made these threats if he were properly diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder, according to the Enquirer. A doctor’s report stated that Keebler’s “perception of the current aggressive and divisive political climate provided him with a reality-based ‘target’ to project his agitated depression and mania onto.”
Keebler said he let his mental health issues get the best of him and that his actions had been a “complete embarrassment,” according to the Enquirer.
ADVERTISEMENT“I recognize that by my own hand I have brought consequences upon myself,” Keebler said.
U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning, who handed down the sentencing, said Keebler’s threats “completely crossed the line,” according to the Enquirer.
As part of his sentence, Keebler cannot have contact with Massie or the senator and must participate in mental health treatment under government supervision, according to the Enquirer.
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