In a threatening letter mailed to a conservative media personality, a California man warned the podcaster needed “to be exterminated” and mentioned Charlie Kirk, who was killed last month while speaking at a public event, according to the Justice Department.
George Russell Isbell Jr., 69, of San Diego, called Benny Johnson “Charlie Kirk Jr.” in the death threat, in which he wrote “you and all your fellow WHITE MAGA podcasters are nothing but revolting white racists and pedophiles,” court documents show.
Isbell’s fingerprints were found on the letter sent to Tampa, Florida, where Johnson lives, on Sept. 18, about a week after Kirk’s death, according to court documents.
At an October 10 Justice Department news conference on Isbell’s arrest, Johnson said he and Kirk had been friends for 10 years and spoke about the letter.
“An individual has been arrested for threatening to kill my wife, my four children, and me. He sent a letter to my home saying he hated our views and wanted us dead,” Johnson wrote in a post shared to the social media platform X.
Isbell was arrested in San Diego on October 7 on a charge of mailing a threatening communication, the Justice Department said in an October 10 news release.
A federal public defender appointed to represent Isbell did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Johnson, as an independent media personality, was invited to a White House news briefing to sit in the “new media seat” in August, The New York Times reported. He began his career in media in 2011 at The Blaze.
Then he was hired by Buzzfeed News in 2012, according to The New York Times, which reports Johnson was fired from Buzzfeed after he was accused of plagiarism in 41 articles.
He now runs a podcast called “The Benny Show.”
The letter Isbell is accused of mailing to Johnson was first received by Johnson’s wife, according to a statement of probable cause.
The statement says Johnson told investigators that “his family received threats on a regular basis but once Charlie Kirk, his friend, was murdered, (Johnson) stated that he takes these threats more seriously” and that he “felt this threat was directed at him and his family.”
The letter, according to the statement of probable cause, also states that:
“The world has so much hate and pain thanks to people like you and Charlie Kirk. … Here is hoping the American flag strangles the life out of you.”
Isbell also wrote, according to prosecutors, that: “Maybe someone will blow your head off!!! We can hope! Planning any public engagements? Love to see your head explode and your blood stain the concrete red. What a sight!”
On October 10, a federal judge granted the government’s motion to detain Isbell. The judge agreed with the prosecution’s argument that Isbell is a danger to the community, court records show.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe, of the Middle District of Florida, said “unfortunately, a rise in political threats has been accompanied by a rise in political violence.”
Political violence is an ongoing issue in the U.S. According to an analysis published September 25 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan and nonprofit think tank, there has been a rise in “left-wing” political violence and terrorism in 2025.
The organization notes that “such violence has risen from very low levels and remains much lower than historical levels of violence carried out by right-wing and jihadist attackers.”
By JULIA MARNIN/McClatchy News
Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.
