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Delegate-elect facing charges over alleged threats to West Virginia lawmakers

Thiis photo provided by the West Virginia Divisions of Corrections and Rehabilitation, shows Joseph de Soto, was elected to serve in the West Virginia state House of Delegates as a Republican in November, following his arrest on at least one felony charge for making terroristic threats on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024 in Martinsburg, W.Va. (West Virginia Divisions of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP)

MARTINSBURG — A Berkeley County man elected last month to the House of Delegates was arrested Thursday for making threats of terrorist attacks.

Delegate-elect Joseph de Soto was arrested early Thursday morning and taken to the Eastern Regional Jail where he remained until arraignment. An arraignment was held Thursday with a cash bond set at $300,000.

Charges faced by de Soto include allegedly making threats of terrorist acts. He is listed as a pre-trial felon on the Eastern Regional Jail inmate listing.

“The arrest was made following an investigation that revealed that Mr. de Soto had made several threatening/intimidating threats against government officials,” a statement from the West Virginia State Police said.

A copy of the police report obtained by The Journal in Martinsburg said at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sgt. Z. Nine with the West Virginia State Police spoke to a complainant at the Martinsburg Detachment. The complainant said she wanted to “speak about threats that have been made to kill delegates within the West Virginia State Legislature,” the report said.

The report said de Soto had been involved in a Republican Caucus meeting at the Capitol.

“Mr. de Soto and other delegates were advised to be having a vote on removing Mr. de Soto from his position for undisclosed reasons,” the report read. “It was advised he was voted out of his position and he was upset.”

The complainant told nine said they had spoken to de Soto on the phone Tuesday and advised all about what occurred at the caucus and said he was going to kill delegates. The report said de Soto specifically named Michael Hite, Pat McGeehan, Chuck Horst, Bill Ridenour and Roger Hanshaw. De Soto claimed “God called him to kill them,” the report said.

Nine was provided with emails between the complainant and de Soto from Tuesday and Wednesday, in which de Soto claimed he was upset with the Eastern Panhandle delegates.

“I have only begun … and won’t stop, I had a vision to destroy them from the angel of Moroni … Hite, Funkhouser, Horst and Wayne Clark,” the report said.

In the same email, de Soto allegedly said, ‘They can all go to Hell … I will send them there as commanded.'”

Del. Wayne Clark spoke on Panhandle Live Thursday morning with Marsha Chwalik about threats made against him and other delegates. Clark in the radio interview said he was driving home from Charleston when he received a phone call to tell him he had been named in a death threat and that he should move his family to safety.

Clark said he contacted his children and his wife, advising them to leave their home and meet at a local restaurant. He was still three hours from home, he said.

Upon his arrival in Jefferson County, Clark said he contacted Charles Town police officers so that he and his family could get their dogs from their home as well as some possessions so they could stay at a hotel.

“The police said they knew what the suspect looked like,” Clark said in the radio interview.

Clark was not comfortable naming the suspect at the time of the interview, despite the arrest having been made several hours before.

“You can probably put two and two together,” Clark said. “This individual said that God told him to kill, and I was named. I hope that threat has been abated.”

Clark also said he knows the individual and believes the individual has some mental health issues.

“Hopefully, now, the individual has opportunity to get the help he needs. Hopefully, the individual won’t get bonded out and finish what he started,” Clark said.

Clark confirmed that the threats were not made specifically to him, but went to the deputy speaker and speaker of the house.

De Soto, from Gerrardstown, won a three-candidate Republican primary race and then faced competition from a Constitution Party candidate in the general election, but no Democrat competitor, and easily won the office. Mike Queen with the Secretary of State’s Office confirmed that de Soto switched parties on Wednesday and is now a registered Democrat.

That change came, as did the threats, after the Republican Caucus met this past Sunday, where it allegedly discussed whether de Soto’s characterization of his own background, which has been under scrutiny, should disqualify him from serving in the House of Delegates. This was the same meeting referenced in the arrest report that set in motion the steps leading to de Soto’s arrest Thursday morning.

The investigation into the threats is ongoing.

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