Suspect Arrested in Threats Against Rep. Jim McDermott

Suspect Arrested in Threats Against Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington State

CHRISTOPHER WEBER
Correspondent

Authorities have arrested and charged a California man suspected of threatening to kill Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington last month.

Charles Turner Habermann of Palm Springs was charged in federal court Wednesday on allegations that he made threatening phone calls to the Democrat's office, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported. If convicted, he could face up to10 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Habermann, 32, was angry about taxes and feared losing a $3 million trust fund.

McDermott found a number of expletive-filled voice messages in December threatening violence against him and his loved ones, CNN reported.

"I'll round them up, I'll kill them, I'll kill his friends, I'll kill his family, I will kill everybody he (expletive) knows," Habermann allegedly said in one voice mail message, according to an affidavit obtained by CNN.
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Suspect Arrested in Threats Against Rep. Jim McDermott

Congressman Jim McDermott's Biography


Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) is serving in his eleventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 7th Congressional District of Washington State, which includes Seattle and parts of several neighboring communities. As a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee, Representative McDermott is chairman of its Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee and also serves on its Subcommittee on Trade. Jim McDermott was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 28, 1936. He was the first member of his family to attend college, and went on to finish medical school. After completing his medical residency and military service in the Navy, he made his first run for public office in 1970 and was elected to the State Legislature from the 43rd Legislative District of Washington State. In 1974, Jim successfully ran for the State Senate, and subsequently was re-elected three times.


In 1987, after 15 years of legislative service, McDermott decided to leave politics and to continue in public service as a Foreign Service medical officer based in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), providing psychiatric services to Foreign Service, Agency for International Development, and Peace Corps personnel in sub-Saharan Africa. When the 7th District Congressional seat became open, he returned from Africa to seek election to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected in 1988 to the 101st Congress and is currently serving in his 11th term.

As a physician, Representative McDermott is especially interested in health care issues. While serving in the Washington State Legislature, he crafted the Washington Basic Health Plan, the first state program in the country to provide low-cost health insurance to the unemployed and working poor. In the U.S. Congress, Representative McDermott is consistently active on health care reform issues. He founded and chairs the Congressional Task Force on International HIV/AIDS, and championed the AIDS Housing Opportunities Act. The co-author of a major single payer health care proposal, Representative McDermott is leading the fight in the U.S. House of Representatives to guarantee all Americans comprehensive and affordable health care coverage. Representative McDermott is married to Therese Hansen, an attorney in Seattle. He has two adult children and three grandchildren. He attends St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.
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Congressman Jim McDermot