DeKalb man charged in assassination threat to Rep. Jeff Keicher jailed ahead of trial

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb County judge decided Monday to keep jailed a DeKalb man accused of threatening to assassinate state Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, citing in part the man’s criminal history of making false 911 calls to police.

Forrest R. Brandon, 58, will remain in custody at the DeKalb County Jail in Sycamore without release pending trial. He appeared for a second court hearing Monday in front of Circuit Court Judge Joseph Pedersen. Brandon is expected to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 15 on a charge of threatening a public official, a Class 3 felony. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Brandon was arrested and charged Friday after police allege that he threatened to assassinate Keicher, a Republican, at an event planned for the day before at DeKalb High School, according to court records.

That event, a senior health fair, was postponed July 17. 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.

Prosecutor Neil Michling of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office argued that given the political climate, Brandon’s threats should be taken seriously. He pointed to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13. Brandon’s threatening voicemail was left on Keicher’s office line two days after the Trump assassination attempt.

“This is a very serious situation, especially in our community, which has had a shooter situation at Northern Illinois University,” Michling said. “You just can’t make jokes, can’t lightly take these types of comments, Judge, if somebody’s talking about showing up to a school to kill somebody.”

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 July 19 court filings.

Michling argued if Brandon were released, others in the community also could be hurt if he were to carry out his threat to target a state representative. He pointed to former fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the assassination attempt at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.

“We know it’s just a phone call,” Michling said. “It’s a threat that was made, Judge, but it’s way more than that. Because if these situations are not taken deadly serious, Judge, they turn out to actually become a deadly event.”

Brandon was charged and arrested without incident by DeKalb and Illinois State Police, DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd previously said. Brandon appeared alert during Monday’s court hearing, although at one point he shook his head as prosecutors argued against his release.

[ 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 want to 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.

Judge cites history of false 911 calls in lengthy ruling

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.

Brandon’s defense lawyer, Chip Criswell of the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office, argued for his release, also pointing to his criminal history. He argued that while Brandon has an alleged pattern of making false 911 calls, he has not followed through with any of those threats to date.

“Judge, he’s got a history of picking up the phone and making bad decisions,” Criswell said. “That does not mean he poses a real and present threat to safety and persons. Because despite those phone calls, despite those threats he’s made, he’s not harmed anybody.”

At the time of the assassination threat voicemail, Brandon was on conditional discharge for a conviction of misdemeanor disorderly conduct after he folded someone’s license plate in half, court records show. He was sentenced on May 14, court records show. Part of his sentence agreement was a court order to appear for treatment at the Hines VA Medical Center and the Kendall County Health Department, Criswell said.

In his almost 15-minute ruling, Pedersen said it appears that treatment “has been ineffective.”

On Sept. 22, 2022, Brandon allegedly made a false 911 call, yelled and threatened to fight someone in front of the Jewel-Osco grocery store in DeKalb, Pedersen said, citing court records. On Nov. 1, 2022, Brandon allegedly threatened to cut a man’s throat, Pedersen said. On Sept. 14, 2022, Brandon allegedly called 911 twice in the city of DeKalb, alleging city corruption, and called the non-emergency line seven times to say city emergency dispatchers were “useless,” Pedersen said, citing court records. On Sept. 19, 2022, Brandon allegedly called the DeKalb Police Department non-emergency 143 times and then 911 line twice since 9 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2022, Pedersen said.

“Based on his history of using the phone to make false 911 calls, even after being repeatedly advised he was not allowed to do so, conditions [of release] could not mitigate the threat he poses to the community,” Pedersen said.

Pedersen said Brandon would still be able to access a phone in custody at the jail but was ordered to have no contact with Keicher.

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