North Carolina
Western NC man threatened Sen. Thom Tillis, sentenced to probation
A Cullowhee man was sentenced to three years of probation for threatening to kill Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, in a phone call.
Wyatt Austin Salus, 26, who is listed as an unaffiliated voter according to the N.C. Board of Elections, pleaded guilty Sept. 26, 2025 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville to making interstate threats, a felony.
Salus did not respond to a May 12 request for comment by the Citizen Times.
In the phone call made March 17, 2025, Salus called Tillis on his publicly listed Washington D.S. telephone number and left a message saying, “The only place you should feel safe in public if you see me is at a town hall. That’s the only place I want to see you in public. If I see you in public outside of that, buddy, you better start (expletive) running.”
Salus also accused Tillis of selling himself to corporate donors and called him a fascist.
“If I see you on the street, I’m going to run you the (expletive) over with my (expletive) car. You should not feel safe in North Carolina. Don’t you (expletive) show your face in the West. I will kill you if I see you,” Salus added.
Tillis is a second-term U.S. senator representing North Carolina who announced this year that he would not be seeking reelection. He recently came under fire from fellow Republicans for his stances opposing President Donald Trump’s policies, and in March 2025, his office published other death threats that he had received. Tillis also made headlines after he scrutinized former U.S. secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in March 2026.
Kara Fohner is the Citizen Times public safety and breaking news reporter. Reach her at kfohner@usatodayco.com.