US expat pleads guilty to threatening to kill Tillis

An American citizen living in Thailand pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening to kill US Sen. Thom Tillis and his staff in September 2021.

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 53-year-old Eric Charles Welton pleaded guilty to one count of threatening a federal official on account of his duties. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in July.

It’s the latest news surrounding threats against Tillis, his family, and staff.

According to court documents and information presented in court, Welton made multiple harassing and intimidating calls to the offices of Republican elected officials and GOP organizations in the US. He claimed he made the threatening calls because he was angry about the large number of unsolicited political emails he received. 

In September of 2021, Welton spoke with a staff member at Tillis’ Raleigh office and threatened to show up and “put a bullet through each of [their] heads.” Welton also threatened to come to North Carolina and “mow…down” the “whole (expletive) state” and find the person who emailed him and cut off his hands.

He is also alleged to have made threats against US Marines and others working at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in November 2022. In one voicemail, Welton allegedly stated that he was “going to kill a bunch of Marines” due to anger over an immigration issue.

In May 2023, FBI Charlotte and FBI Atlanta Special Agents arrested Welton at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport as he returned to the United States from overseas.

“Threatening to kill a public official and his staff is not only despicable, but also an affront to our democratic system of government,” Acting US Attorney Daniel P. Bubar said Thursday in the press release. “Our office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute threats or intimidation against public officials so they can properly carry out their important duties.”

Threats against Tillis, his family, and staff continued last year when he received a threatening voicemail from a caller who said she would “find him and shoot him and cut him into pieces” if he voted in favor of legislation to ban the social media platform TikTok.

Tillis released the voicemail on his X account. The young woman, who threatens to shoot Tillis twice, in addition to “cutting him into pieces,” can be heard laughing throughout the message, saying that people make money from being on TikTok and that she is trying to get rich and TikTok is her only form of entertainment.

The threats have escalated in recent months, with the latest phone calls being released by his staff in a YouTube video three weeks ago. Most of the comments are too graphic to repeat, but one woman can be heard saying, “I hope you have children and grandchildren because I hope that they will suffer the diseases the rest of the children will. I don’t have any, so I don’t really care. You’re not a good person. You’re not one of the good guys anymore, so get the [expletive] out of office.”

In previous calls, a woman can be heard saying that the “joy of her week” was hearing other phone calls that were made, including a man threatening to bash Tillis’ head with an ax handle, and that all the comments were “giving her life.”

In an expletive-laced call, a man said he “might drive to North Carolina and shoot him dead in the streets like the dog he is,” describing how he hoped horrible things would happen to his wife and children in front of him.

Still, another call made by the same man said, “You’re all gonna die. Thom’s gonna die,” with talk of his office being blown up with his staff inside and how all patriotic Americans will be clapping and thankful that it happened.

“It is unacceptable to make violent threats against anyone, said Robert M. DeWitt, the special agent in charge of the FBI in North Carolina, in Thursday’s press release. “But when threats are directed at elected officials, it can impact their ability to effectively serve their constituents and their country. The FBI will not tolerate this type of intimidation for any reason especially when it comes to those who help run our democracy.”

The calls are part of a growing and disturbing trend against political figures in recent months, with some pointing the blame at extreme-left groups protesting President Donald Trump’s 2024 election.

Threats against Tillis are also drawing commentary from media, with the McClatchy paper in Tillis’ hometown, the Charlotte Observer, posting a column by the editorial board with the search engine title, “Threats against Tillis are wrong, but voters are scared too.”

Last month, a staffer emailed Carolina Journal about a handwritten letter mailed to Tillis’ Greenville office and postmarked from Greensboro in late February.

While the letter writer insisted “this should not be considered a threat,” they went on to declare that Tillis’ staff members are “sacrificial lambs” who “signed up to be his shield” and implied they would soon be subject to the violence of angry mobs unless they resign or find a Groupon for self-defense classes.

On March 6, local Democratic Party groups and the Indivisible Guilford County group organized a protest at his Greensboro office. Indivisible at the national level was formed in response to Trump’s 2016 election and has geared back up with a new “guide” for followers to use at every level of government.

A spokesperson for Tillis said in an email to CJ that law enforcement has since advised Tillis’ staff to telework on days they expect protesters out of an abundance of caution.

“We will not make any apologies for prioritizing the safety and security of our staff.”

Tillis and other lawmakers who either have not had town halls or had tele-town halls have been criticized in response to being abundantly cautious during such heated times across the country.

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