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Mississippi man indicted for threatening to kill US Senator

By Kaitlin Howell May 19, 2023 | 12:41 PM

OXFORD, Miss. (WJTV) – A Benton County man who allegedly threatened to kill U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was indicted, according to documents filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Oxford.

The Daily Journal reported William Carl Sappington, 58, was indicted on a single count of threatening a federal official. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, May 22.

Sappington went to the Hickory Flat residence of George Wicker, the senator’s cousin, on April 26, according to FBI special agent Jason Nixon’s testimony.

“Sappington reportedly said he intended to kill Roger Wicker because of his involvement in an incident (Sappington) had with law enforcement back in 2014,” Nixon said.

In February 2014, Sappington was arrested for the aggravated assault of his brother. He tried to flee and was bitten by a police dog. Authorities later transported him to a trauma center hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, to treat injuries he sustained during his arrest, the Daily Journal reported.

He objected to being taken over state lines without a hearing and felt that he was kidnapped, FBI special agent Matthew Shanahan wrote in an affidavit.

More recently, Sappington was released from prison in November for the theft of property worth more than $10,000. He tried unsuccessfully to retain an attorney for his objections to how his 2014 arrest transpired, the newspaper reported.

Wicker, a Republican, has represented Mississippi in the United States Senate since 2007.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.