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Chicago man accused of threatening Flake ordered to Arizona to face charges

Posted at 3:58 PM, Oct 25, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-25 21:56:56-04

A Chicago man accused of threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake because he was "tired" of the Republican "interrupting" President Donald Trump will face the federal charges in Arizona.    

U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago said in a late Wednesday order that prosecutors in Arizona, where a grand jury indicted James Dean Blevins, didn't agree to transfer the case to Chicago.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that prosecutors alleged at a Tuesday detention that Blevins left a voice message at Flake's office, saying, "I am tired of him interrupting our president, and I am coming down there to take him and his family out." Blevins' lawyer said his client had been drinking.    

Weisman said officials "need to be able to do their job without fear." But he freed Blevins, ordering him to report to Arizona.