U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday announced the arrest of a man who, in a letter, allegedly threatened to kill conservative commentator Benny Johnson and his family.
George Russell Isbell, 34, was arrested Friday morning in San Diego, California, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory Kehoe.
Isbell was charged in federal court with mailing threatening communications.
Bondi announced Isbell’s arrest during a Tampa, Florida, press conference on political violence.
“An individual has been arrested for threatening to kill my wife, my four children, and me. He sent a letter to my home saying he hated our views and wanted us dead,” Johnson later posted on X.
“He is being charged federally and faces prison time.”
Bondi said Johnson received a letter at his home “just days” after the assassination of Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk.
“The author of this letter made it very clear that he hated Benny because of his views, and he wanted Benny dead,” Bondi said. “This was a coward hiding behind a keyboard who thought he could get away with this.
“I’m proud to announce that we have arrested the author of this letter.”
Bondi said Johnson notified her immediately after receiving the letter. She praised local and federal authorities for working together to find the suspect.
“We cannot allow this political violence to continue any longer. This arrest will serve as a reminder to many — do not do this. We will find you,” Bondi said.
Kehoe, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, said law enforcement mounted a coordinated, multi-agency investigation after the Johnsons reported receipt of the letter to the Tampa Police Department.
The FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the U.S. Postal Service, and the Tampa police worked together, Kehoe said, to trace the mailing back to San Diego and to identify fingerprints on the envelope.
Those prints led authorities to Isbell, who was arrested by the FBI in the San Diego area in cooperation with local federal prosecutors and the San Diego Police Department.
Kehoe described the letter as “vicious” and “horrific,” and said the criminal complaint filed in the case includes the full text. He read from the complaint in broad terms, saying the letter calls for the “extermination” of Johnson, suggests he be “strangled by an American flag” and contains other explicit threats to “blow his head off,” among additional violent language.
Besides thanking President Donald Trump, Bondi and the Justice Department in his post, Johnson said “left-wing violence is exploding with copycats appearing everywhere. It is the greatest threat to our country today, targeting people for simply speaking the truth.”
“Let me be absolutely clear: We will not be silenced. We will not back down. We will not break. You lit a fire that cannot be put out,” he wrote.
“Charlie Kirk taught us to go on offense. That is exactly what we will do. We will work harder, speak louder, and grow stronger. We will continue to move TPUSA’s mission forward. For Charlie.”
