Overview
- The incident began as a $19 tax dispute at State Rep. Leanne Krueger’s Brookhaven office and escalated into an outburst that staff described as threatening and antisemitic during a visit on Tuesday, July 7.
- State police investigators from the Political Violence Threat Unit interviewed and arrested 65-year-old Richard John Franklin the next day and charged him with terroristic threats, ethnic intimidation, harassment, and disorderly conduct; he is being held on $100,000 bail.
- According to the criminal complaint, Franklin admitted using an ethnic slur about Gov. Josh Shapiro but gave multiple, conflicting accounts about whether he explicitly threatened arson; his brother says he heard no slur or arson threat.
- The arrest was handled by the Political Violence Threat Unit, a unit created in May to investigate ideologically motivated threats after prior online threats to lawmakers, and it follows the April 2025 arson at the governor’s mansion that left that residence damaged.
- The case is at the pretrial stage with a July 16 preliminary hearing scheduled, and officials and Jewish-community groups have said the arrest underscores heightened concern about threats to elected leaders and potential follow-up security or prosecutorial actions.