Twenty-one-year-old Scott Lennox from Illinois left a threatening voicemail recently for Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey. In the voicemail, he stated that he was planning to “skin” Bailey “alive” and “feed his f****ng family to him,” according to local prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege that Lennox was involved in a “heated argument” with friends in a Chicago bar on Friday night in response to advertising calling for voters to vote for Bailey. The ads made Lennox bar “angry” and led to the voicemail that threatened Bailey.
In the voicemail, Lennox allegedly said he was planning to “skin Darren Bailey alive,” and “feed his f ****ng family to him as he is alive and screaming in f ****ng pain.”
Lennox also allegedly called Bailey a “piece of white a** racist s**t” in the voicemail, before claiming to have Bailey's address.
“Honestly if he doesn’t kill himself, I will. You know what? I know where he lives. I know where he sleeps. I know where his kids sleep. And I know the f**k school he works at,” the prosecutors claim Lennox said.
Lennox has also said that “the person who is educating the mother fi ****ng falsehoods is likely to end up dying. In reality, he should end his life before any other thing takes place.”
Lennox reportedly continued, saying, “the candidate teaching all this mother f****ng misinformation is going to die. So honestly he should just kill himself before anything else happens.”
Lennox went on to say:
So f**k him for being a piece of s**t. So you know what? I am going to take anything and everything possible. You know what? I am going to make him scream. I am going to make him scream and suffer. Yeah, that’s right. So he better kill himself, and if he doesn’t, I am going to kill him.
The schools that are associated with Bailey and his family have been put on lockdown since the threats, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Police also reported that they provided Bailey with additional security measures and advised him to stay away from public appearances.
Lennox acknowledged that he had left the message immediately following his arrest Monday, police said.
Bailey rejected the “misleading rhetoric” that fueled the caller's threatening voicemail.
Bailey made the following statement in an announcement:
Divisive, inflammatory, and misleading rhetoric is driving hatred across our state as some attempt to label political opponents as dangerous threats. Whether we agree or disagree on policies, we are all Americans. I pray this young man gets the help he needs. We must bring our state together and fight for the safety and prosperity of every Illinoisan.
On Wednesday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Susana Ortiz set the bail for Lennox at $75,000 and made an order preventing him from communicating with Bailey, his family, and his staff.
