Pennsylvania state police will create a new unit for threats against elected officials after communication ‘breakdown’ with legislators
Some Democratic lawmakers had not been notified of recent threats against them, but the unit will have a new communication protocol.
The Pennsylvania State Police is creating a new unit to investigate threats against elected officials after a communication failure surrounding violent threats against Pennsylvania legislators.
Adam Berryhill, 42, was arrested on May 6 after making “politically violent” threats on social media, including an alleged “hit list” against 20 Democratic state lawmakers in Pennsylvania, mostly from the Philadelphia area, state police said.
But it wasn’t until police posted the Lebanon County man’s so-called hit list this week that some of the lawmakers were made aware. Berryhill ran a social media account called “Pennsylvania Militia” and seemed to be planning a potential attack, according to police.
“Look how full my hands are... they don’t represent Pennsylvania. They are communist infiltrators,” the account posted on April 7. “I’ll approach every legal avenue and when they all fail I start shootings.”
In a Wednesday letter to the Pennsylvania House and Senate leadership, Lieutenant Colonel George L. Bivens, the acting commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), said the department is changing its communication protocol because lawmakers were not notified as they should have been.
“While the investigation and threat mitigation were handled properly by PSP, a review of this matter reveals a breakdown in the notification process that should have occurred to the affected legislators,” he said in the Wednesday letter.
» READ MORE: Man arrested after making ‘hit list’ threats against 20 Pennsylvania Democratic lawmakers, police say
Bivens also said the state police department is creating a new political violence threat unit within its Bureau of Criminal Investigation for the purpose of investigating threats against elected officials.
“Members of this unit will be experienced investigators, who will work hand in hand with the TIU to ensure complete continuity in the flow of information throughout the investigation and notifications process,” he said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was the victim of political violence while celebrating Passover last year, when a Harrisburg man broke into the state-owned governor’s residence wielding a hammer and set off several fires. Shapiro and his family, who were sleeping inside at the time of the attack, were uninjured. The man later pleaded guilty to various charges including attempted murder and arson.
Shapiro said Wednesday that “a better process is necessary” to inform elected officials of threats, following Berryhill’s arrest.
Berryhill waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Lebanon County court on Thursday, according to court documents.
The defendant has previously made several guilty pleas for misdemeanor theft and drug offenses over the past two decades. He also entered a guilty plea on charges of terroristic threats, assault, and harassment in 2016, court records show. According to the Lebanon Daily News, Berryhill, then 33, was arrested after threatening to kill three women with an axe.
Among the Democrats on Berryhill’s “hit list” were House Speaker Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia, and Rep. Chris Rabb and Sen. Sharif Street — both of whom are vying in a hotly contested primary to represent Philadelphia’s 3rd Congressional District — among several others. Berryhill is a registered Republican who last voted in November 2024.
According to Bivens’ letter, the state police’s Pennsylvania Crime Intelligence Center (PACIC) was notified of a potential threat against McClinton and other state legislators on Thursday, April 30, and directed the Tactical Intelligence Unit (TIU) to begin an investigation. Berryhill was identified within hours, he said.
That information was conveyed to the state police’s Executive Services Office, which passed it on to the Pennsylvania Capitol Police, the House sergeant-at-arms, and McClinton’s chief of staff.
But as the investigation progressed, the Executive Services Office was not kept in the loop, and therefore, neither were the affected legislators. The day after the initial notification, the TIU identified more posts and more victims: several Pennsylvania senators and more state representatives.
State police got a search warrant for Berryhill’s home, charged him with terroristic threats, and detained him. Lebanon County mailed letters to the targeted legislators, but TIU officers didn’t realize the information wasn’t being passed along, Bivens said.
A new process will ensure more entities are updated with more information throughout investigations.
As part of that process, TIU investigators will pass on “all threat information” to the sergeant-at-arms for both chambers of the legislature, Capitol Police, the state police’s Executive Services Office, the state police’s Police and Legislative Affairs Office, and provide a point of contact for questions.
The sergeant-at-arms will be asked to notify any legislators named in a threat and confirm with TIU when that’s been done, as well as tell the lawmakers’ local police departments.
