JUST IN: Police Foil Plot To Assassinate GOP Governor

A ponytailed man from New Hampshire plotting to assassinate his state’s Republican governor has been arrested after authorities uncovered a digital trail of evidence containing his threats.

Tristan Anderson, 22, is accused of threatening to kill Gov. Kelly Ayotte using homemade pipe bombs, devices that authorities described as a “weapon of mass destruction.”

According to prosecutors, Anderson first came on the radar of authorities after allegedly boasting about his bomb-making skills to a roommate on Snapchat, where he displayed materials for his handiwork.

An arrest warrant for Anderson states that he has previously complained about an “Israel Deep State” running the state and federal governments. A string of racially-tinged commentary spoke to his ire for Jewish Americans, prosecutors said in court this month, and pointed to Anderson’s messages directing his anger at Ayotte, who is Catholic.

He made similar threats to “kill” members of the New Hampshire GOP committee, accusing them of believing that “they speak for the rest of NH residents.”

Elsewhere, Anderson stated that he is “convinced my generation is full of w****s” and shared videos promoting anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.

The roommate spoke with police and informed officers that Anderson possessed firearms and materials, including fireworks, metal tubes, and bags of nuts and bolts that he promised to fashion into pipe bombs.

Anderson has been in custody since August at the Merrimack County Jail, where he is being held without bail. He faces charges including criminal threatening and threatening a government official.

Gov. Ayotte did not respond to a request for comment by the Daily Mail.

Anderson’s arrest occurred weeks before suspected gunman Tyler Anderson opened fire on a Utah college gathering, killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Lawmakers and political celebrities remain in a heightened state of alert, with some going so far as to cancel outdoor events or move them inside for their safety.

Ayotte was inaugurated as the governor of the Granite State in 2025. She previously served in the U.S. Senate from 2011 to 2017.

Ayotte’s election was one of the rare bright spots for blue state Republicans in 2024; despite President Donald Trump losing the state, she managed to defeat Democrat Joyce Craig by 8 points.

Her ability to localize messaging was key to her success, and she never once mentioned the Israel-Hamas war despite a roiling debate on college campuses for much of 2024. Her only commentary on the region appears to be a 2014 op-ed in which she criticizes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the outlet noted.

In it, she writes that Abbas “has embarked on a destructive course harmful to the prospects for rebuilding Gaza and achieving Israeli–Palestinian peace.”

Chris Vetter, director of Safety Services at the State House, told the New Hampshire Monitor that officials are taking the increased threats against elected officials seriously.

“We’re aware of what’s going on nationally,” Vetter said.

“We’re going to remain vigilant.”