Prosecutors ask judge to detain DeKalb man accused of assassination threat to state Rep. Keicher

SYCAMORE – Prosecutors on Saturday asked a DeKalb County judge to detain a DeKalb man accused of threatening to assassinate state Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, and a ruling is expected Monday.

Forrest R. Brandon, 58, will remain in custody at the DeKalb County Jail without release until at least Monday. Brandon was arrested and charged Friday after police allege that he threatened to assassinate Keicher, a Republican, at an event planned Thursday at DeKalb High School, according to court records.

That event, a senior health fair, was postponed Wednesday. Multiple GOP legislators had planned to host the event, which has been held before in DeKalb. In a voicemail, Brandon allegedly said he was upset because the fair was a partisan event held at a public high school, according to court records filed Friday.

If convicted of the Class 3 felony, Brandon could face up to 10 years in prison. He was arrested without incident Friday by DeKalb and Illinois State Police, DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd said.

Authorities allege that Brandon confessed to the threat, saying that he “may” assassinate Keicher, “but claimed he never intended to carry out the threat,” Illinois State Police wrote in court filings.

[ DeKalb man threatens to assassinate state Rep. Jeff Keicher, prompting event postponement ]

The court filings include an edited transcript of the voicemail. Keicher told Shaw Local News Network that the police transcript of the voicemail is accurate to the recording.

“Yeah, yes, sir, my name is Forrest Brandon. I’m a U.S. Air Force veteran. I wanna know what the [expletive] going on with you hosting a partisan event at a public high school. Screw you, Republicans. Hey! Maybe I might assassinate you. I may. Not saying I will. I’m just saying I may,” Brandon allegedly said in the voicemail, according to court records.

In a Saturday hearing, Brandon told Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick that he wants a public defender to represent him, saying that he already had spoken to one that morning. He wore glasses, a black shirt and sported a white beard, appearing alert and responsive to the judge.

Court records allege that Brandon has a history of making false calls to 911 in DeKalb County. Brandon was charged four times in 2022 with making a false 911 call, according to court records.

Keicher told Shaw Local News Network on Friday that an aide first listened to the voicemail, left on his legislative office phone line about 9:38 p.m. July 15.

A judge is expected to rule whether Brandon will be detained at a follow-up hearing set for 1 p.m. Monday, about a week after the voicemail.

Elected officials and local law enforcement condemned the assassination threats Friday.

“I think it’s a reflection of the heat of the political dialogue that’s going on in our country right now, and I’m hopeful that we can use it as a lesson to be able to calm down the rhetoric a little bit and talk about solving our issues, instead of violence,” Keicher said Friday.

He said he feels safe, however, and thanked area law enforcement for their vigilance. He said he plans to reschedule the senior health fair.

Keicher’s Democratic opponent for the 70th House District in the November election, Cortland Town Trustee Randi Olson, issued a statement late Friday. Olson evoked President Joe Biden’s remarks after an assassination attempt July 13 on former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee for president.

“I want to comment on the recent cowardly threat directed against Jeff Keicher by quoting President Biden’s recent statement,” Olson wrote. “All of us now face a time of testing as the election approaches. There is no place in America for this kind of violence – for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

Keicher’s 70th District includes portions of DeKalb, Boone, Kane and McHenry counties.