A Pennsylvania man faces up to 12 years in federal prison for threatening to kill his congressman — after Aetna dropped his coverage, Medicare wouldn't cover his drugs, and Medicaid refused to pay, leaving him staring down withdrawal with nowhere to turn.
Aaron Michael McComsey, 44, of Perkasie, was indicted on two felony counts of threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder a federal official after sending emails August 4 to the office of Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, according to the Mechanicsburg Patriot News. The emails, quoted in the indictment, don't read like a political operative's manifesto. They read like a man in medical freefall: "Aetna dropped me. Medicare doesn't cover drugs. And Medicaid is refusing to pay. I go into withdrawal in 36 hours. After that time, (Fitzpatrick) is no more on this Earth. Fix this or he goes bye bye forever."
McComsey demanded $6,000 for one month's medication. "He's a millionaire," he wrote of Fitzpatrick. "Let his (expletive) pay for it. I'm so done. That man is finished." He also referenced an Eagle Scout graduation and said he was "coming over there soon if this isn't resolved."
The threats are criminal. No dispute. Fitzpatrick released a statement calling threats of violence "never acceptable" under any circumstances and thanked U.S. Capitol Police and the U.S. Attorney's Office. U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced the charges. McComsey appeared before District Judge Pamela A. Carlos, who set bail at $10,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph LaBar is prosecuting. Nancy MacEoin of the Federal Community Defender's Office, assigned to McComsey, couldn't immediately be reached for comment, the Patriot News reported.
What the establishment coverage won't ask: what happens to a citizen when every door slams shut? Aetna drops him. Medicare won't cover his drugs. Medicaid refuses payment. He faces withdrawal — a medical crisis that can be agonizing and, depending on the substance, dangerous. The system's answer isn't treatment. It's a felony indictment and over a decade in a cell.
Down in Palm Beach, another man hit a breaking point. Desmond Keogh, 66, owner of high-end Haifa Limestone, was arrested after admitting he shot an alligator in the head and beat it repeatedly with a hammer, according to the Gainesville Sun. An anonymous caller reported the hammer still sticking from the animal's forehead. Keogh faces charges for killing an alligator without a license and discharging a firearm in public. Florida has a nuisance alligator hotline — a process Keogh bypassed entirely.
Two men, two states, two different crimes, one pattern: a system that would rather charge you than help you. McComsey needed medication and got an indictment. Keogh needed a trapper and got a mugshot. The criminal justice system is the only institution in America that never turns anyone away.
Fitzpatrick is right that threats must be taken seriously. But if Congress and the healthcare apparatus keep leaving Americans in literal withdrawal while prosecutors fill the void, the threats won't stop — they'll multiply. Twelve years for McComsey won't fix the next man's medication costs. The establishment will call each new threat an isolated incident. It isn't.
