Man indicted in alleged threat against Kerry

Jace Radke

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

A Las Vegas man was indicted Tuesday for allegedly sending an e-mail to a CNN reporter and the White House that threatened the life of presidential contender Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Robert V. Ruppert, 53, is being held pending trial after he allegedly gave a copy of the threatening e-mail to his psychiatrist, who then notified the Secret Service.

The psychiatrist notified authorities after receiving a copy of the e-mail on March 16, federal authorities said.

The e-mail was originally sent to CNN newsman Wolf Blitzer and was simultaneously copied to the White House, according to the complaint that the federal indictment is based on.

The indictment charges Ruppert with making a threat to a major candidate and states that he "did knowingly and willfully threaten to kill, kidnap and inflict bodily harm upon Senator John Kerry."

Ruppert was arrested April 13 and made an initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate on April 15, at which point he was ordered detained. He is scheduled to be arraigned this week.

Officials with the Secret Service would not release the exact details of the threat.

"Suffice it to say that the threat contained in the e-mail left no doubt in the agents' minds," Secret Service Special Agent Paul Masto said. "There was no ambiguity. It was a direct threat."

Kerry was in Las Vegas on February 13 and 14 for the Nevada presidential caucus.

A man who pleaded guilty to charges similar to those faced by Ruppert but involved threatening letters sent to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., was sentenced to two years in prison in 2002.

Milton Thomas Black pleaded guilty to two counts of mailing threatening letters from October to December 2001. In one letter, sent to both Reid and Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, a threat was made against Reid and CNN talk show host Larry King.

One of the letters included complaints about being ignored by government officials, and another letter, sent to Reid and Owens, said no one would pay attention to information the letter writer said he had in the JonBenet Ramsey homicide investigation.