‘Iowa Hit List’ Lands Florida Man In Jail

PORT RICHEY, FL — An email threatening the life of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and other high-profile state officials landed a 59-year-old Port Richey, Florida, man in hot water Monday. The email was allegedly sent to the governor’s office and also posted to a Facebook page operated by the Iowa Family Preservation Project. The threats reportedly came on the heels of the state of Iowa’s decision to strip the accused man’s daughter of parental rights over her children.

Pasco County deputies brought Richard Gillow into custody on May 8 after receiving a call from Ken O’Brien, an investigator in the Polk County, Iowa, state attorney’s office. O’Brien, the Pasco sheriff’s office said, provided an excerpt of Gillow’s alleged post, kicking off an investigation.

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A deputy was sent out to Gillow’s apartment in the 11300 block of U.S. 19. In an arrest report, the deputy said Gillow admitted to writing an email to the governor and others on May 6. That email opened with the line, “Dear Governor, this is to inform you that Iowa hit list is almost complete,” the arrest report said. It allegedly went on to detail those on the list, including Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, State Attorney General Tom Miller, “all DHS Social Workers, All Family Court Judges,” and others, the report added.

“In the post, he threatened to kill the listed subjects, all of whom he believed to be involved in the removal of his daughter’s children by DHS of Iowa,” the sheriff’s office explained in a Tuesday email to media. “Richard believed the children were kidnapped by the government and he would kill anyone involved in the investigation.”

Authorities say Gillow lost his standing to see the children after they were taken from his daughter. The children are “being adopted later this summer, effectively ending his ability to see them,” the agency’s email noted. The ages of the children and the circumstances surrounding the loss of custody were not made available.

The sheriff’s office said Gillow was forthcoming when questioned about the threats. “He admitted to all and almost seemed to be bragging about the threats,” the email said. In addition, he showed deputies his computer, which revealed the emails and social media posts, the sheriff’s office wrote.

Authorities also say Gillow claimed to “have access to multiple weapons and had a group of subjects headed to Iowa to kill” those listed in the letter. Gillow, the sheriff’s office said, is retired from the Navy and “suffers from PTSD.”

Gillow was booked into the Land O’ Lakes Jail Monday on a charge of making written threats to kill or do bodily harm.

The Iowa governor’s office reportedly called the deputies involved after the arrest to thank them “for their quick response, action and teamwork in this matter,” the email noted.

No further information is available at this time.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office