Chicago man charged with sending death threats to Illinois GOP gov candidate Darren Bailey

A Chicago man was hit with three felony charges for allegedly sending death threats to Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey after a night out at a bar last month.

Scott Lennox, 21, allegedly made the threats after becoming enraged over a political ad that aired on TV at a local watering hole, according to prosecutors.

The ad led to a “heated argument” between Lennox and his friends, and then a late night phone call to Bailey’s Springfield campaign office during which Lennox allegedly threatened to kill Bailey and harm his family, prosecutors said.

“I’m going to skin Darren Bailey alive, making sure he is still alive, and I’m going to feed his f—ing family to him as he is alive and screaming in f—ing pain,” Lennox said, according to prosecutors, in the voicemail left at 10:27 p.m. on Oct. 28, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. 

The Illinois State Police told The Post on Wednesday that the department launched an investigation immediately after it was contacted by Bailey’s office about the threats. 

“ISP received a report from Sen. Bailey’s Office of a threat.  As is standard, ISP follows up on all threats made to public officials in an investigative and protective capacity where appropriate. The investigation is ongoing,” the Illinois State Police said in a statement. 

Lennox allegedly railed against “misinformation” in the voicemail and threatened Bailey’s children at one point. 

“He is a piece of white a— racist s—t, and honestly if he doesn’t kill himself, I will. You know what? I know where he lives. I know where he sleeps. I know where his kids sleep. And I know the f—ing school he works at,” prosecutors allege he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. 

“The candidate teaching all this mother f—ing misinformation is going to die. So honestly he should just kill himself before anything else happens,” Lennox allegedly went on. 

In a statement to The Post, Bailey, an Illinois state Senator, said that he will “pray” that Lennox gets “the help he needs.”

“Divisive, inflammatory, and misleading rhetoric is driving hatred across our state as some attempt to label political opponents as dangerous threats. Whether we agree or disagree on policies, we are all Americans. I pray this young man gets the help he needs. We must bring our state together and fight for the safety and prosperity of every Illinoisan,” Bailey told the New York Post.

Bailey’s opponent, incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) also denounced the threat in a tweet Wednesday.

“The violent rhetoric and division we’re seeing across our country is unacceptable. Hatred in any form has no home in Illinois,” Pritzker said. 

Lennox is charged with one felony count each of threatening a public official, telephone harassment, and harassment by electronic communications. He is being held on $75,000 bail.