Expatriate pleads guilty to threatening to kill Sen. Thom Tillis and staff in NC
An American living in Thailand pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening to kill Sen. Thom Tillis and his staff by putting a bullet in their heads and cutting off their hands.
What set him off? Too many unsolicited political emails.
Eric Charles Welton, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of threatening a federal official on account of his duties, a news release from U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Welton, who will be sentenced in July, faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Threatening lawmakers
Department of Justice officials noted that Welton made numerous harassing and threatening phone calls to Republican elected officials and the state party.
Court records state that now retired-Sen. Richard Burr was the other lawmaker to receive calls from Welton.
Tillis and Burr received seven phone calls, all recorded, with similar threats to harm or murder the two North Carolina senators and their staffs, court records state. And an FBI agent wrote in those court records that due to the voice, threats, nature of the calls and rhetoric, agents believed the calls were placed by the same person.
At times, Welton would offer his name and email address in hopes of being removed from the GOP’s distribution list. He would also reference living abroad and his anger toward the emails.
But it was his father, a man in Iowa, who helped agents determine that it was Welton who placed a call on Sept. 29, 2021, threatening Tillis and his staff, agents said.
The court records detail the 13-minute call in which he made statements like:
▪ “You guys can contact me, but I can’t contact you. Maybe I just gotta go down there to (the Raleigh office) and just kill everybody I see.”
▪ “I should fly back over there, walk into (the Raleigh office)and teach you what ‘Stand My Ground’ means, put a bullet through each of your heads.”
▪ “You are making me wanna come back there and mow your whole (redacted) state down. You picked a (redacted) fight with me, you little (redacted).”
He also told the staffer that he had cancer and that a suicide vest meant he didn’t need to go through chemotherapy.
He also suggested cutting off their hands.
Welton’s father told police that his son had lived with him in 2020 during the pandemic and was angry after he claimed to have received 600 political emails, court records state. His dad told agents that Welton went as far as calling the White House switchboard, and that he knew he made calls to North Carolina.
Agents played all seven recordings for Welton’s father, but due to impaired hearing, he could only confirm that he thought the Sept. 21 call could be from his son, court records state.
Threats won’t be tolerated, Justice Department says
“Threatening to kill a public official and his staff is not only despicable, but also an affront to our democratic system of government,” said Daniel Bubar, acting U.S. attorney. “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 our their important duties.”
News of Welton’s conviction comes as Tillis has faced a bevy of threats from across the country in recent weeks for decisions he’s made as the Trump administration has taken office.
Tillis released a series of several audio files of the threats, and promised to seek charges against anyone who threatens him.
“It is unacceptable to make violent threats against anyone,” said Robert DeWitt, special agent in charge of FBI in North Carolina, in a news release about Welton’s conviction. “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.”
Tillis thanked law enforcement for their work on the case in a statement Thursday.
“In an era of unprecedented threats against elected officials and public servants, it is more important than ever to ensure that those who seek to intimidate or harm through threats are held fully accountable,” his office said in the statement.
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 5:39 PM.
