GOP Freshman Rep. Receives Assassination Threat -- FBI Involved

Rep. Bobby Schilling has been warned to "lay low" after an email surfaced purportedly offering $75,000 for the Illinois Republican's assassination.

Schilling, a first-term congressman, received the threat Tuesday. Both the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police are investigating, and the Schilling and his family are taking "recommended precautions," his spokeswoman told The Hill.

"I'm supposed to kind of lay low, not really go out in public," Schilling told local station WQAD-TV Wednesday. "The Sheriff's Department was at our house this morning, parked in our drive.  I thought, 'Oh, boy!'"

The email states, "I will pay $75,000 for ASSASSINATING Illinois Congresswoman [sic] Bobby Schilling and any US Congressman, US Senator and FBI, CIA and NSA DIRECTORS and their FAMILY MEMBERS regardless of their age.

Schilling, a husband and father of 10, is the only person specifically named in the email. He told the station he was informed the email likely came from a man in California who has made similar threats in the past.

"I'm pretty concerned. My wife is very concerned. It's a general threat to all members of Congress, but they specifically called my name out in the threat. You just don't know what people are thinking," he said.  "It's something we're not going to take lightly."

Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider told Roll Call Thursday that while federal authorities are "conducting an active investigation" into the matter, "USCP does not discuss the security of Members of Congress, and any communication between USCP and any Member of Congress is confidential."