Robert Odell Potts
Introduction
Robert Odell Potts is a 58-year-old man from Palm Harbor, Florida, charged by federal indictment with interstate communication of threats to injure and kill, a crime carrying a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison . According to the indictment, on October 28, 2026, he threatened to assassinate four individuals, including two sitting members of the U.S. House of Representatives, in a social-media post that named his alleged targets . His arrest was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida on November 13, 2026 .
Background Information
The case was investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office . The involvement of the Capitol Police’s Threat Assessment Section reflects that the alleged threats reached sitting members of Congress, whose protection falls to that agency . The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Wheeler, III, and was announced by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged by federal indictment with threatening to assassinate four people, including two sitting U.S. House members. The allegation is unproven and he has not been tried.
The indictment alleges that on October 28, 2026, Potts posted a true threat on social media, including the statement: “Today I will be assasanating [sic] [U.S. CITIZEN 1], [U.S. CONGRESSMEMBER 1], [U.S. CONGRESSMEMBER 2], and [U.S. CITIZEN 2] today.” The identities of the alleged targets were not disclosed in the public release, which refers to them only by those placeholder designations . Two of the four alleged targets are described as sitting members of the U.S. House of Representatives and two as private citizens .
Potts was arrested and charged with one count of interstate communication of threats to injure and kill .
Public Reaction and Consequences
The arrest was announced November 13, 2026 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida as part of its violent-crime docket . The three investigating agencies — the U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section, the FBI and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office — jointly worked the case from the October 28 post to the arrest . The office’s public description of the case emphasizes the charge carries a maximum of five years in federal prison if he is convicted .
Current Status
Potts has been charged by indictment but not tried, and the indictment is a formal charge only; every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty . The case is pending in the Middle District of Florida, prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Wheeler, III . No arraignment date, plea or defense attorney had been publicly reported in the announcement .
Impact on Their Career/Life
The 58-year-old Palm Harbor resident faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted of threatening to injure and kill through interstate communication . The alleged post placed his name in a federal case worked by the agency responsible for protecting Congress, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has publicized his arrest across its press channels . The indictment’s reference to four named-but-unidentified targets — two of them sitting federal lawmakers — makes the case part of the small set of prosecutions over alleged threats against sitting members of Congress .
Sources
- “Palm Harbor Man Arrested for Threatening to Injure and Kill Four Individuals, Including Two Sitting United States Congressmembers” — U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida / justice.gov, November 2026: source