Man arrested after making ‘hit list’ threats against 20 Pennsylvania Democratic lawmakers, police say
Adam Berryhill, 42, of Lebanon County, was arrested last week. Most of his alleged targets are from the Philadelphia area.
A Lebanon County man was arrested and charged last week after making “politically violent” social media threats — including an alleged “hit list” — against 20 Democratic state lawmakers, mostly from the Philadelphia area, state police said Tuesday.
Adam Berryhill, 42, of Lebanon, was arrested May 6 after authorities were notified of the online threats, state police said in a news release. He was charged the following day in Lebanon County Magisterial District Court with one count of making a terroristic threat, according to court records.
Berryhill’s list, first reported by Spotlight PA, included House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., 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 in the U.S. House.
According to charging documents, state police in late April began to investigate a slew of social media posts from an X account known as “Pennsylvania Militia” after a state trooper assigned to McClinton found them as part of a regular safety and security check.
One post from the account, which police said was operated by Berryhill, referenced a “Memorial Day operation” that police said indicated premeditation and a timeline of a potential attack.
Police said Berryhill also posted photos on the X account of a hand holding a firearm, which Berryhill was prohibited from owning due to a 2019 involuntary commitment.
According to police, the other Philadelphia officials on Berryhill’s list included Reps. Morgan Cephas, Malcolm Kenyatta, Rick Krajewski, Danilo Burgos, Joe Hohenstein, Mary Isaacson, and Jordan Harris. Lawmakers from Philadelphia’s collar counties were also on Berryhill’s list, police said, including Reps. Benjamin Sanchez and Tim Briggs, and Sens. Steve Santarsiero, Amanda Cappelletti, Maria Collett, John Kane, Katie Muth, and Judy Schwank.
“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.”
Though Berryhill was arrested nearly a week ago, some of the Democratic lawmakers said they had not been made aware that their names appeared on the so-called hit list until police posted it online Tuesday.
Muth, who represents Montgomery County, said she had become aware of the alleged threats only after two of her Democratic colleagues received preliminary hearing notices at their Capitol offices that identified them as crime victims. Muth said she contacted the magisterial district judge to receive her own letter.
“I don’t have any idea why we weren’t notified prior,” Muth said Tuesday evening, adding that she often drives through Lebanon as part of her route to Harrisburg. “It just would have been nice to know. … I feel like it’s a failure of protocol.”
Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) on Tuesday called the events “a clear communication breakdown that failed to keep legislators briefed on threats to their safety and subsequent steps taken by law enforcement.”
“The safety of each and every senator is a top priority, and I look forward to meeting with our security teams and the Pennsylvania State Police to personally ensure that all communications protocols are adhered to going forward,” said Costa, whose name was not on the list.
A state police spokesperson said in an email Tuesday evening that the agency alerted the Lebanon County district attorney “immediately following” the threats, in addition to the “law enforcement agencies responsible for the security of the elected officials involved.”
“The law enforcement process worked as it should to keep public officials safe, and the individual responsible for the threats is now behind bars,” said Chris Caracino, a state police spokesperson.
Several of the lawmakers said threats of political violence have become commonplace.
Kenyatta, who serves as a vice chair in the national Democratic Party in addition to his duties as a state representative, said in a statement it was “sadly not the first time I’ve endured threats of political violence.”
“Threats, intimidation, and violence have no place in our politics,” Kenyatta added. “It seems trite to repeat, but we must continue to say it from every part of the political spectrum.”
Rabb, who has spoken publicly about his family’s concerns about his run for higher office, said he learned of the threats Tuesday. In a statement, he said that political violence against elected officials is “meant to silence people like me.”
“Threats don’t change the work — they confirm why it matters," Rabb said.
Street said in a statement that he has faced “tens of thousands of threats” over his defiance to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“We remain undeterred in our mission to deliver for the people of Philadelphia,” Street added.
McClinton, Costa, House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery), and House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R., Bedford) put out a joint statement Wednesday condemning the threats as “extremely disturbing.”
“As leaders of the General Assembly, we know that disagreement and debate are features of a healthy democracy. Threats of violence and harm are not,” the leaders said.
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) and Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) did not sign on to the statement, but said they would do so after speaking with state police “once we have all of the details,” according to a spokesperson for Ward.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was the victim of political violence last year, when a Harrisburg man broke into the state-owned governor’s residence wielding a hammer and set off several fires, while Shapiro and his family slept inside. Shapiro and his family were uninjured. The man later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and arson, among other charges.
The governor, who has spoken out against political violence since before he became a target of it, condemned the threats in a statement and said the incident made clear “a better process is necessary” to notify elected officials. State police will institute a policy that requires investigators to notify members of the General Assembly “immediately and directly” of any threats against them.
Who is Adam Berryhill, the man charged with allegedly threatening Pa. lawmakers?
Court records did not list an attorney for Berryhill. He is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing Thursday, records show.
Police seized a face covering and two black baseball caps as part of a search of Berryhill’s home, according to a warrant.
State records show Berryhill is a registered Republican in Lebanon County, who last voted in the November 2024 general election.
His criminal record dates back two decades, including several guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges for theft and drug offenses. In 2016, he entered another guilty plea on charges of terroristic threats, assault, and harassment, court records show. According to the Lebanon Daily News, Berryhill, then 33, was arrested after threatening to kill three women with an axe.
The X account that police said Berryhill used to threaten lawmakers was created in March. Since then, the account posted over 500 times about politics, gun laws, and Pennsylvania news. Several posts described “OPORD,” or military operation orders, one of which authorities said included premeditated plans to commit violence.
“Learn the law and know when it’s your God given right to kill your authorities,” the account posted on April 24.
A Facebook account under Berryhill’s name posted voluminously until 2020. He often ruminated at length on issues including veterans affairs, mental illness, child sexual assault, and violence.
The postings rarely drew engagement from other people, with Berryhill sometimes writing back and forth to himself in the comments section. Some of the posts were tagged from the Lebanon County probation office.
In one post made in 2020, he made a cryptic statement about his arrest years earlier for threatening women with an axe.
“Tell the truth about what you see and do,” the post read, with a link to a news article about his arrest. “Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatchet scoured, sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready to march at a minute’s warning.”
