A Hartford man is accused of making threats against the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Haven, some members of Congress and other federal employees and has been arrested on federal charges.
Aubrey Wayne Rose Jr., 43, of Hartford, was arrested Thursday on a federal criminal complaint and has been detained until a hearing that is scheduled for Monday.
The officer of the United States Attorney for Connecticut said Rose is suspected in several instances.
He is accused of sending a threatening email on March 7 to the Defense Finance Accounting Service, the U.S. Department of Defense agency that pays military retirees their monthly retirement and disability benefits and Combat-Related Special Compensation.
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He is also accused of sending email to the offices of four members of the United States Congress, asking for a formal appeal of his military pay.
He also stated, “If not[,] the 2d Amendment is in our Constitution for a reason. . . . ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. I PICKED UP A RIFLE TO PROTECT THIS COUNTRY BEFORE. I WILL MAKE SURE I PICK IT UP FOR MYSELF. IM TIRED OF GAMES YALL CAN FIX IT OR NOT. MY DECISION HAS BEEN MADE,” according to a news release from the United States Attorney's office.
On the morning of Dec. 20, he went into the VA Medical Facility in West Haven wearing a tactical vest and carrying a bullhorn and said, “Next time I come back, I’m bringing a weapon” as VA police officers followed him, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
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After that, he went to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Haven office and told an agent that if he did not get assistance from the VA, he would have “to go back to the VA with a firearm,” federal officials said.
Rose is also accused of sending an email to several people, including an employee of the Connecticut Superior Court, on May 30 that contained a draft of another email he was planning to send to an unnamed member of Congress stating, “Your continued refusal to acknowledge fact and ignore me will leave me with no other choice but use my 2nd Amend Rights to force this GOVT to do the right thing. . . . Your continued non compliance will only solidify my decision and force me to act with the only decision that yourself and other govt agencies have left. To force you comply or be killed in the process,” federal officials said.
On June 5, 2023, wearing a tactical vest on his chest and what appeared to be two knives strapped to the back, he tried to gain access to the Connecticut office of a member of the United States Congress, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Staff members locked the door before he got inside.
Later that afternoon, he returned, stood outside the office and yelled through the intercom in a threatening manner, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General, Northeast Field Office and the Department of Veterans Affairs Police are investigating.
