Pennsylvania Lawyer Indicted For Threatening To Murder Members of the Senate –
Kenelm L. Shirk: Police mug shot
Staff Report –
In a case of clear evidence that the right-wing, racist Trump insurrection against American Democracy is not over, a Conservative Pennsylvania lawyer has been arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury for threatening to murder members of the United States Senate, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Kenelm L. Shirk III, 71, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was arrested in Shippensburg on Jan. 21 and indicted on Feb. 3.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the indictment alleges that Shirk made threats to murder Democratic members of the Senate. He had also threatened his wife, who had engaged in a political argument with him and turned him in.
On January 21, 2021, Shirk was stopped by the Pennsylvania State Police in his vehicle en route to Washington D.C. A search of Shirk’s vehicle recovered several firearms and large amount of ammunition. Shirk was then taken into custody by the Pennsylvania State Police and charged with making terroristic threats.
According to Pennsylvania Real-Time News, he was caught in possession of an AR-15 assault rifle, two handguns, a large quantity of ammunition including 30 rounds of .380 bullets, along with rope, gloves, and about $5,000 in several rolls of $50 bills.
After he was detained, Shirk underwent a mental evaluation at WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital. A nurse, who has been in the medical field for 16 years, told police she thought Shirk “sounded serious about killing his wife and others,” the affidavit said. The nurse said she “did not want to see it on the news and feel like she was responsible.”
Documents showed the nurse relayed to authorities that Shirk “made comments about shooting government officials in their front yard. This along with his comments about not being afraid to die made her afraid.”
According to the affidavit, the nurse reportedly found 50, quarter-sized plastic crosses in a bag in Shirk’s briefcase.
The nurse notified the FBI after she found a “to-do list in Shirk’s briefcase,” which included on one side of the list, “guns, ammo, ropes, tools, meds, magazines,” according to the court documents.
He has been in Franklin County Jail since Jan. 22 without bail on two counts of making terroristic threats.
Shirk made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Susan E. Schwab on Feb. 9, and pled not guilty to the federal charges. He was detained pending a trial that was scheduled for April 5.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office, the Cornwall Police Department, and the Washington D.C. Capitol Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime M. Keating is prosecuting the case.
