Chicago Heights man admits making profanity-filled threat to Biden’s inauguration

A Chicago Heights man admitted Thursday he threatened President Joe Biden’s inauguration in an expletive-filled voicemail left for a member of Congress late in 2020.

Louis Capriotti, 46, wore an orange jumpsuit and a white facemask under his chin as he listened to a federal prosecutor read his words to U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman. When the prosecutor finished, Guzman asked Capriotti whether he left that and other messages.

“Yes I did, your honor,” Capriotti said.

Capriotti now faces a likely prison sentence of more than a year at his sentencing hearing, which is set for Jan. 25. He was arrested last January, during the tense two weeks between the breach of the U.S. Capitol and Biden’s inauguration.

Prosecutors later that month also played an excerpt of Capriotti’s voicemail rant for a judge, who then ordered Capriotti held in custody.

In the voicemail, Capriotti could be heard saying that, if “motherf---ing p---y a— Republicans and these Democrat f---ing terrorists think that Joe Biden is going to put his hand on the Bible and walk into that f---ing White House on Jan. 20th, they’re sadly f---ing mistaken.”

“We will surround the motherf---ing White House and we will kill any motherf---ing Democrat that steps on the motherf---ing lawn,” he said.

Capriotti also said, “Democrats are f---ing terrorists. They’re babykillers, gun-grabbers, God-hating, cop-hating, open borders, fake climate change c---sucking cheaters.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Dunne said at the time that no guns or other weapons were found in Capriotti’s home when he was arrested. Still, U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes ruled Capriotti should be held in custody, saying, “Threats hurt people. They terrorize people. They make people afraid.”

Capriotti wound up entering his plea the day of a planned visit by Biden to the suburbs.

An 11-page criminal complaint filed against Capriotti referenced four members of Congress who allegedly received voicemails from him, but they were not named in the document. In the voicemails, the feds allege Capriotti “often screamed while leaving the messages” and spoke of raising “motherf---ing hell.”

Cook County Sheriff

He also repeatedly claimed to be a Marine, according to prosecutors. A Marine Corps spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times no record could be found of Capriotti serving. Capriotti’s defense attorney also told Fuentes in January that Capriotti “was not a Marine” and “has never served in the military.”

Dunne told the judge then that Capriotti left “dozens of messages” on members of Congress’ voicemails over four years, but they became “more disturbing” last year, around “the late month of November and then in early December.”

The prosecutor also said Capriotti had a history of “calling individuals, making them uncomfortable.”