FBI reportedly arrests teen in possible threat against Congressman | Dallas News Live

North Texas, Congressman Keith Self told us that he was the target of an assassination plot. According to the congressman, a radicalized 17-year-old was arrested. The FBI has not released any statements or details about this arrest. I spoke to the congressman this morning about the case. Congressman Keith Self, you made headlines yesterday saying that there was an assassination attempt on your life. Can you share more information about this? Yeah, the arrest happened on October the 5th. I don't remember the exact date, but we were notified several days later by the Capitol Police that the FBI told them about a threat. The first warning was kind of benign. We subsequently got a second alert from the Capitol Police several days later that said that this was a pretty serious threat, that we needed to be careful. So we kind of upped our profile, our security profile, and continued to make appearances and go out and do a lot of poll greeting. We've been out for the election. So yeah, we've still been out. And what was the specific threat, to your knowledge, from what Capitol Police told you? Well, earlier, it was simply the barest of details that this young 17-year-old had threatened. And we didn't know much more than that. So a lot of the details have come out since this broke. Apparently, several of the outlets have been talking to the FBI. And so we've added a lot of details. So it was just the last 24 hours. And we reached out to FBI Dallas and they told me they had no comments. So we're still trying to learn more about this. I do have to ask the timeliness of this with it being two weeks out from the election. Is it you were told by officials that it's okay to report this news this week? I'm not sure I know the timeline there. When it broke, I was like, okay, We need to get ready to talk to the reporters. So I'm not talking to you with that timeline. I got you. So you're saying you released a statement yesterday because a news outlet broke the news? Is that what you're saying? Correct. We put out several statements before we got a consolidated statement. So, yes. And what do you, just in general, know a person of any political party should be targeted or assassination attempt or plot or anything. What do you want the public to know just about, you can disagree with a politician, but there should not be any political violence on either side? Well, I think we need to understand that this was a serious threat. A 17-year-old who had been radicalized by ISIS had a weapon. And frankly, I think I now understand that the FBI approached him because he had a weapon. So that's unacceptable. unacceptable in our political discourse. But you also have to understand the danger. Now, members of Congress get threats all the time, but most of them do not rise to the level of an arrest. So that's what makes this news. That's what makes this different, is the arrest. And I understand the FBI will try this young man or try to try this young man as an adult. So yeah, this has no place in America. But if we're honest about it, we've got to make sure that the elements that cause this have no place in America. And my last question to you, Congressman, do you feel comfortable to still go out and campaign and be accessible to the public leading up to the election? Absolutely. I've been out poll greeting this morning. So yes, I certainly do. I've got confidence in my security team, and we will certainly be more aware of our situation around us. But yes, I still feel confident. Congressman Keith Self, thank you for your time. Thank you. All right, Congressman Self is up for reelection. Here's what Self's Democratic challenger, Evan Hunt, said on social media. We're reading it in its full capacity. There is no place for violence in our politics. No political disagreement ever justifies threatening someone's life. Every elected official, their family, and their staff deserves to be safe, regardless of party. I appreciate the FBI and law enforcement officers working to keep our communities and public servants safe. We must settle our differences through debate and at the ballot box. Political violence must be condemned without hesitation or excuses, no matter who is targeted. It is on all of us to set the example for our youth.