Oklahoma man sentenced for threatening, stalking congressman

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (KFOR) – A Bartlesville man has been sentenced for threatening and stalking an Oklahoma U.S. Representative and his wife.

Officials say in November 2018, Keith Charles Eisenberger, now 40, began making statements about Rep. Kevin Hern during visits and phone calls to the congressman’s offices in Washington, D.C., and Tulsa and on social media that “became increasingly more violent over time.”

In January of 2019, Eisenberger went to the Washington, D.C. offices and demanded to see Hern.

Officials say he told U.S. Capitol Police that he believed Hern had been elected illegally. He said that he believed the congressman had been appointed to the seat without Eisenberger being considered for it.

In a social media post in 2020, authorities say Eisenberger voiced his anger about the election and said that the congressman and the state of Oklahoma deserved to be ‘federally executed.’ He said that if that couldn’t be done, then the resignation, death, or expulsion of Hern was acceptable.

In a 2021 post, Eisenberger allegedly said he was going to assault Hern.

Then, in May 2022, Eisenberger said he wanted to kidnap Hern and his wife, and wished harm would come to the congressman’s family.

By the end of that same month, Eisenberger would be charged with threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder a United States official; threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder an immediate family member of a United States official; and cyberstalking.

He pleaded guilty to all three charges in August 2022.

Now, Eisenberger has been sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

“Eisenberger threatened a member of Congress and his family in an attempt to interfere with and undermine our democratic process and the duties of that official,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Online threats of violence meant to intimidate elected officials, or any member of our community are criminal acts and will be investigated and prosecuted.”

Eisenberger will remain in the custody of U.S. Marshal Service pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.