Nearly three years after she began receiving vulgar and threatening phone calls, a grateful U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard acknowledged the work of law enforcement agencies from Washington, D.C., to Mexico after the arrest Wednesday of a 43-year-old man in Tijuana who allegedly said he would decapitate her.
Aniruddha Sherbow harassed Gabbard as far back as when she was a member of the Honolulu City Council, the FBI said, but it was his alleged threat to behead the now-first-term congresswoman that culminated in his capture.
Sherbow’s arrest in Tijuana was announced in Washington, D.C., Thursday by FBI Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave and U.S. Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine. From Mexico he was turned over to the FBI in San Diego, where he was to make an initial court appearance today.
Later he will be moved to Washington, D.C.
"We do not have comment on the arrest, but the congresswoman is grateful for the work of the U.S. Capitol Police, FBI and all law enforcement officers involved in this investigation," said Heather Fluit, Gabbard’s press secretary.
Gabbard, 32, is in Hawaii during Congress’ summer recess and has made public appearances this week on Oahu, Hawaii island and Kauai. Today she is scheduled to present a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor to a Schofield Barracks soldier.
Sherbow is charged with transmission of threats in interstate commerce. Mexican authorities said he is originally from Boston.
"The FBI hopes that this arrest gives Rep. Gabbard some peace of mind and a greater feeling of safety as she represents the people of Hawaii in Congress," Honolulu FBI Special Agent Tom Simon said. "Sherbow had been stalking Gabbard for nearly three years starting when she was a member of the Honolulu City Council."
ON AUG. 2 the FBI and several media outlets, including the Star-Advertiser, received an email from someone named Rudy S, allegedly Sherbow, describing how he planned to decapitate Gabbard.
The long, rambling message began: "So it is about exactly a year ago that I sent Tulsi a message saying that my parents were dying, as a result of the character assassination she carried out on me, after I tried to help her. I had just spoken to both of my parents, and they sounded like crap. There had also been many other negative effects of Tulsi’s lies, such as damage to a number of relationships, and good people being fired because I couldn’t help."
The writer went on to mention other threats he had made, expressing his frustration that Gabbard had ignored his earlier correspondence.
"Last, but not least," he added. "I really was born into the same obscure Western-Hindu tradition as Tulsi, the Hare Krishna Movement, also known as the Brahma Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya. Because of this last connection, I think she is counting on me not hurting her. And she is right to count on it, because it is in fact very difficult for me to hurt her. However, we all have our limits, and I have reached mine. At this point, if you stuck Tulsi’s head in front of me, I’d have it off in two seconds flat."
Gabbard was elected to Congress in 2012 as one of the first two female combat veterans elected to that body. She is the first Hindu and first female of Samoan ancestry to serve in Congress. She is still a captain the Hawaii Army National Guard.
The August email ended: "I, Aniruddha Sherbow, with the Divine as my witness, do hereby solemnly vow to find Tulsi Gabbard, wheresoever she may be, and to sever her head from her body.
"Everybody happy now?
"Now I suppose the FBI agents who were waiting for one of my parents to die can go ahead and file the terroristic threatening charges against me."
Gabbard’s father, state Sen. Mike Gabbard, posted a statement on Facebook following Sherbow’s arrest.
"The Gabbard ohana sincerely thank all law enforcement at the county/state/ federal level for protecting our daughter, and tracking this creep down," he wrote. "We owe you."
On March 24, 2011, Gabbard was granted a three-year injunction against Sherbow, who allegedly made verbally abusive telephone calls and sent her similar text messages.
He attended a meeting of the Honolulu City Council in February 2011 when Gabbard was a member, showing up in a hearing room where she was.
At that time Gabbard said she did not know Sherbow, but said he had contacted her more than 35 times from Feb. 3 to Feb. 23, 2011.
Gabbard told the Star-Advertiser at the time that Sherbow, who would identify himself only as "Sphinx," first contacted her on her cellphone on Feb. 3, 2011, when he asked her if he could rent office space from her.
Gabbard said that when she declined, Sherbow called her again the next day and asked whether he could rent space to work out of her home.
Sherbow told the Hawaii Reporter that he had offered to volunteer in Gabbard’s Council office with writing press releases and other correspondence, but was shunned,
On Feb. 6, 2011, Gabbard sent Sherbow a text stating, "I don’t know what’s going on, but please don’t text me or call me again."
Gabbard said Sherbow’s communications escalated.
He had been "calling me numerous times, at strange hours," she told the Star- Advertiser. "Later communications (were) extremely inappropriate, profane, vulgar and sexual in nature — basically, taking it as far as he could go," she had said.
Sherbow’s messages became more abusive, including one that said if she approached him he would force her to perform a sexual act, Gabbard had said.
Sherbow attended a City Council meeting on Feb. 23, 2011, and kept moving about, seemingly trying to get Gabbard’s attention. After Sherbow left the Council meeting room, Gabbard talked to police.
Sherbowallegedly called her that night, leaving an angry, profane message and criticizing her for taking the matter to the police.
Sherbow was arrested March 4, 2011, for allegedly harassing by stalking, which is a misdemeanor. However, Sherbow reportedly fled the state before he was served with a penal summons.
