April 04, 2019 - 3:31 PM
MIAMI - Jurors have failed to reach a verdict for a Florida man charged with threatening to kill the children of U.S. Rep. Brian Mast.
Treasure Coast Newspapers reports that a federal judge in Miami declared a mistrial Thursday for 68-year-old Laurence Key. The Stuart man had been charged with communicating a threat to kidnap or injure a person.
Authorities say Key was arrested in June 2018 after an intern said he called the Florida congressman's office in Washington and threatened to kidnap and kill Mast's three young children because he was upset about President Donald Trump's immigration policies separating immigrant children from their parents.
Authorities say Key had contacted Mast's office 478 times before.
It wasn't clear if the U.S. Attorney's Office would seek a new trial for Key.
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Information from: The Stuart (Fla.) News, http://www.tcpalm.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2019