State police charge Lebanon man with making threats to shoot state lawmakers

by Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
May 13, 2026

(This article was updated Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 5:37 p.m. to include a statement Gov. Josh Shapiro. It was updated previously to add comment from House and Senate leaders and a statement by Sen. Lindsey Williams.)

State House Speaker Joanna McClinton is among 20 Democratic Pennsylvania lawmakers named in social media posts made by a Lebanon County man charged with threatening to shoot them.

Adam George Berryhill, 42, of Lebanon, is now charged with making terroristic threats. He was jailed under $250,000 bail following his arrest May 7, and is scheduled to appear in district court Thursday for a preliminary hearing. Berryhill faces a single misdemeanor charge of terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another, according to court records.

McClinton’s state police security officer started an investigation last month after troopers became aware of several concerning social media posts involving threats against her and other lawmakers, according to the document charging Berryhill.

One, posted April 22 to an X (formerly Twitter) account police later determined to belong to Berryhill, read, “Oh you like posting hit lists? Here’s mine bitches.” In addition to McClinton, of Philadelphia, it named House Judiciary Committee Chairman Tim Briggs of Montgomery County, Government Oversight Committee Chairwoman Morgan Cephas of Philadelphia and Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia, all of whom are Democrats.

“All gun grabbing communists!” the post concluded.

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McClinton, Majority Leader Matt Bradford, Republican Leader Jesse Topper and Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa issued a bipartisan statement Wednesday condemning the threats and calling them “extremely disturbing, not just to the members identified, but to all public figures who are contending with an increasingly hostile environment.”

“As leaders of the General Assembly, we know that disagreement and debate are features of a healthy democracy. Threats of violence and harm are not. We condemn any threat against any of our colleagues who are faithfully serving their communities and pledge to support mental health care, intervention, and law enforcement funding that make our state safer.

“The threats are a symptom of a greater sickness in our democracy.  The escalation of political violence has reached an astounding level, impacting elected officials from school boards to the president of the United States.  Pennsylvania has not been immune to that violence.

“As Pennsylvanians we can’t and won’t allow political violence to become commonplace in our commonwealth.  We won’t allow it to discourage good people from becoming involved in their communities and seeking public office.  We won’t accept it as the consequence of public service,” the statement said.

Sen. Lindsey Williams, who is among the targets of the threats, said she first learned about the posts and Berryhill’s arrest Tuesday when she received a routine notification from the court that a preliminary hearing was scheduled. She later learned the extent and nature of the threats from another lawmaker. Williams said she has received numerous death threats in the past, but this is the first time anyone has been arrested.

“I’m scared that there has been another threat to my life, for myself, for my staff, my family, and any innocent bystanders. But I’m also furious as to how this incident was communicated to me,” she said. “This threat was credible enough to investigate and make an arrest. However, neither I nor my local police departments were ever notified of the danger that I and other members were in.”

Williams called for an independent investigation to understand how the communication breakdown happened and to ensure that victims of terroristic threats and political violence are notified in a timely fashion.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement he has spoken with McClinton and Costa, as leaders of their respective caucuses, and told them his administration would do everything in its power to. ensure they are safe and able to do their jobs as elected representatives.

Shapiro also addressed the delay in notifying some lawmakers about the threats.

“We are experiencing a dangerous rise in threats of political violence across the Commonwealth,” he said, adding that he appreciates the fast work of the state police and Lebanon County District Attorney to charge and arrest Berryhill. “It is also clear a better process is necessary to notify elected officials directly when these threats are made.”

Lt. Col. George Bivens, the acting commissioner of the state police, has with House and Senate leadership, and the agency has instituted a new process to notify members of the General Assembly immediately and directly of any threats of violence against them, Shapiro said.

“It is on all of us to combat hate speech and political violence, and I call on all of my fellow Pennsylvanians and fellow leaders to stand up against this dangerous rising tide of violence we are seeing across our country,” he concluded.

Another post, on April 24, referred to Cody Ballmer, who is sentenced to 25 to 50 years in state prison for his arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence in April 2025 while Shapiro, his family and friends slept after celebrating the first night of Passover.

“Conservatives need to stop bitching and whining on this platform. The solution I have is war. We are already at [war] with a socialist government because the government has declared it first. Learn the law and know when it’s your God given right to kill your authorities,” the post said.

The charge against Berryhill comes amid a surge in political violence over the last several years in America. Incidents include the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler County and the murders of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman and shootings of Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman.

Last year, former Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) told the Capital-Star he resorted to wearing a bulletproof vest for several months after facing a stalker with a history of unusual behavior, including a statement that he was willing to “die in combat.” Rozzi said the incident contributed to his decision to retire from politics.

In the charge, state police cited repeated and escalating public communications, knowingly and intentionally threatening to commit crimes of violence with intent to terrorize another and reckless disregard of the risk of causing terror.

“The statements made by Berryhill were not isolated or vague, but specific, targeted and directed toward identifiable public officials,” police said. They included hit lists, explicit threats and mentioned a planned “Memorial Day operation,” indicating premeditation and a timeline.

And although Berryhill cannot legally possess firearms, photos on his social media indicate Berryhill may have access to a gun, police said.

According to the affidavit of probable cause charging Berryhill:

Police said the account @Pennsylvanwb posted a photograph March 23 of an unidentified person holding a camouflage patterned firearm equipped with a sling, scope and a suspected suppressor. A suppressor, or silencer, is an accessory that deadens the report of a rifle or other firearm and is illegal under state law unless registered with federal authorities.

Investigators noted that Berryhill was involuntarily committed to a mental health treatment facility in 2019 and is prohibited from possessing firearms. The image was posted to a second X account, @4476Warlord, and reverse image searches revealed it  appears nowhere else on the internet, indicating that it hadn’t been previously published.

A post on April 7 listed 17 lawmakers from the state House and Senate, all of whom are Democrats from the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas, claiming they are communists infiltrating state government. The post stated he would “write up an operation for each one” and file “mandamus with the Commonwealth Court.”

A writ of mandamus is an order from a court to a government official directing them to properly fulfill their duties or correct an abuse of discretion.

“I’ll approach every legal avenue and when they all fail, I start shootings,” the post said, according to police.

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A few days later, the account posted, “Can’t wait for the Memorial Day operation. I can’t wait to get back to normalcy,” adding that the poster’s family was “crazier than I am” and that he would have to “decrease my extremes” because it was reflecting badly on the poster’s children.

Through the rest of April, the X account made additional posts that appear to discuss military-style tactics “for use against the city police (if you don’t want to pay taxes anymore)” and killing police officers.

“That’s how it’s going to go down when they come for my guns. Come to take my guns and you sign an innocent police officer’s death warrant. It really is simple and retarded but that’s how you expose tyrants,” a post on April 24 read.

Police executed search warrants at Berryhill’s home in the 100 block of E. Elm Street in Lebanon on May 1. Court documents said police recovered a black baseball hat and a green shemagh, a traditional head scarf worn by men in parts of the Middle East and Africa also known as a keffiyeh.

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