NYC Man Accused Of Threatening To Kill Members Of Congress Says It Was Just 'Blather'

A New York City man charged with making online threats to murder members of Congress told a jury on Tuesday that the threats weren't meant to be taken seriously.

Brendan Hunt acknowledged he had written the online statements but dismissed them as "blather" produced under the influence of marijuana and alcohol.

"I was really just letting off steam," Hunt said, according to The Associated Press. "It was really more online blather than anything else."

Hunt was arrested Jan. 19 as part of the FBI's sweeping investigation of the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Hunt was not present at the Capitol riot, but his posts to social media caught the attention of federal investigators.

In a criminal complaint filed Jan. 18, the FBI said Hunt, a part-time actor and filmmaker and full-time employee of the New York State Office of Court Administration, appeared online under the alias "X-Ray Ultra," posting far-right incendiary material.

The FBI said Hunt made a series of threatening posts between Dec. 6, 2020, and Jan. 12, 2021, "in which he threatened, or incited others, to murder members of Congress."