A federal grand jury has charged a 33-year-old Ohio man for allegedly threatening to kill US Vice President JD Vance during the vice president’s visit to the state in January, according to the US Department of Justice.

The suspect, Shannon Mathre, a resident of Toledo, Ohio, is accused of making a direct threat to take the life of and cause bodily harm to the US vice president, the Justice Department said in an official statement released on Friday.

According to prosecutors, Mathre allegedly stated that he intended to locate Vice President Vance and use an M14 automatic rifle to kill him. Authorities did not disclose where or how the alleged threat was made.

US Secret Service agents arrested Mathre on Friday, following an investigation into the reported threat. The incident marks the latest in a series of security concerns involving Vice President Vance.

Earlier in January, Vance revealed that an individual he described as “a crazy person” had attempted to break into his Ohio residence, repeatedly hammering on the windows. The vice president and his family were not at home at the time, and a 26-year-old suspect was later taken into custody, according to US media reports.

In a separate development, the Justice Department disclosed that investigators discovered multiple digital files containing child sexual abuse materials in Mathre’s possession while probing the alleged threat against the vice president.

Mathre appeared before a US Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Ohio on Friday for his initial court hearing. He remains in federal custody and is awaiting a detention hearing scheduled for February 11, prosecutors confirmed.