Alleged threats to DeMarco's life headed to grand jury

The case against an FHFA official accused of threatening to kill former Acting Director Edward DeMarco is headed to a grand jury

The case against a man accused of threatening the life of a former Federal Housing Finance Agency official is headed to a grand jury.

Richard Hornsby, the FHFA’s chief operating officer, has been charged with threatening to kidnap or injure a person after allegedly threatening to shoot former FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco in April.

Hornsby allegedly threatened to shoot DeMarco after making “increasing threatening comments” over the course of a few weeks, according to police reports. The FHFA’s inspector general was notified of the threats following an April 28 incident in which DeMarco was “escorted to a secure location following a report of a threat,” court documents allege. An unnamed FHFA employee allegedly said that Hornsby had threatened to harm DeMarco and then kill himself.

The threat allegedly occurred two days before DeMarco's retirement from the agency, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The unnamed FHFA employee said the threats against DeMarco stemmed from disagreements about Hornsby's job performance ratings.

Judge Michael McCarthy ruled Wednesday that there was probable cause to send the allegations to a grand jury, according to a Credit Union Times report. The grand jury could charge Hornsby with three felony counts for threatening to kidnap and kill DeMarco.

Hornsby has denied the allegations.