A former metro Atlanta man now living in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, is facing felony charges after allegedly sending a death threat to Georgia Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins and a member of his family, according to authorities. Anthony Lantrell Bennett, a former Hampton resident, was arrested October 2 and is accused of threatening both Collins and his son-in-law, David Allen Scheer II, in a message sent over Instagram.
The alleged threat read, “I'll come to Jackson and smoke you,” according to an Instagram direct message quote reported by WSB-TV. Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said Collins reported receiving the threatening message, which said Bennett would come to Jackson, Georgia. During questioning, Bennett admitted to sending the message and told investigators it was prompted by an inaccurate online story, according to WSB Radio.
A Cross-Country Manhunt Ends in a New York Suburb
The Butts County Sheriff's Office worked with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI to track down Bennett, and all three agencies investigated the alleged threat. To make the arrest, Sheriff Long, a county investigator, and a GBI agent traveled directly to New York on October 2 to coordinate with the FBI's Buffalo Field Office, apprehending Bennett outside his suburban residence. The station's report notes the trip underscores how seriously local authorities treated a threat that named their own hometown.
Jackson isn't just another dot on the map for the Collins family. Mike Collins' late father, former U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, served as Butts County Commission chairman before going on to serve six terms in Congress, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mike Collins later succeeded his father as owner of Jackson-based Collins Trucking before winning his own seat in Congress, making the city both a political and personal anchor for the family.
Felony Charges and a Possible Prison Term
Bennett, described as a former metro Atlanta resident, now faces felony charges in connection with the threats against Collins and Scheer. Under Georgia Code § 16-11-37, a terroristic threat conviction that suggests the death of another person is classified as a felony, carrying a statutory penalty of one to five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000, or both, per count, according to Justia Law. Bennett was charged with two felony counts, one for the threat against Collins and one for the threat against his son-in-law.
Threat Lands in the Middle of a Tight Senate Race
The arrest comes as Collins, a Republican, is locked in a high-stakes bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia's 2026 U.S. Senate race, a contest playing out in a battleground state that Donald Trump carried in the 2024 presidential election, according to The Current GA. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp endorsed Collins for the seat in September, a move Hoodline covered in Kemp Finally Backs Collins. Following Bennett's arrest, Collins issued a statement thanking law enforcement and linking the threat to political rhetoric on the campaign trail from Ossoff, as reported by CBS News.
The case also lands against a backdrop of rapidly escalating threats against federal lawmakers nationwide. The United States Capitol Police's Threat Assessment Section investigated 14,938 concerning statements and threats directed at members of Congress, their families, and staff in 2025, a 57% increase over 2024, according to data the agency released in January. Capitol Police have cited the perceived anonymity of social media platforms as a primary driver of the increase. A separate 2025 study from the University of Chicago's Project on Security and Threats found that charged threats against members of Congress have surged by 600% since 2016, affecting lawmakers of both parties.
Not the First Threat Case in Butts County
This isn't the only recent terroristic threats case Butts County authorities have handled. In July, local law enforcement charged a former student with making terroristic threats targeting a person and Henderson Middle School in Jackson, a case Hoodline detailed in Former Student Charged After Threat. The back-to-back cases suggest Butts County authorities have taken an increasingly proactive stance on prosecuting threat allegations, even as the specific inaccurate online story that Bennett says triggered his message has not been publicly detailed by investigators.
