NC man charged with threatening to kill 41 state lawmakers over shrimping ban
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Anthony Wayne Street arrested and accused of death threats tied to shrimping ban debate.
- Deleted Facebook posts referenced violence against 41 state senators.
- Street previously ran for auditor; past charges included a 2018 stalking case.
Authorities have arrested a Brunswick County man and accused him of threatening to kill state lawmakers over a proposed ban on shrimp trawling in the state’s sounds that is being hotly debated in the legislature right now.
Anthony Wayne Street, 44, was arrested by the State Bureau of Investigation on Friday and charged with making threats against executive, legislative or court officers, a Class I felony under state law, according to court records.
An arrest warrant that was issued and returned that day alleges that Street threatened to kill Sen. Bill Rabon, a top Republican leader in the N.C. Senate who represents Brunswick County, “and/or 40 other North Carolina Senators.”
The warrant alleges that Street threatened to kill Rabon and other senators in a Facebook post that said “he/they be warned now you deserve to lose your lives and that all senators in Raleigh need to understand what happened to Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman in Minnesota can happen here in North Carolina.”
The News & Observer obtained screen shots of since-deleted Facebook posts that said: “The commercial fishermen of N.C. pray God will bless Bill Rabon & the other 40 State Senators who have voted to end our way of life ... be warned now you deserve to lose your lives!”
Another since-deleted post said: “41 Senators in Raleigh need to understand what happened to Melissa Hortman & John Hoffman in Minnesota can happen here in North Carolina!”
The posts appeared to have been made by Street’s account.
Hortman, a Minnesota lawmaker who served as speaker of the state House, and her husband, Mark, were killed in a targeted shooting June 14. Hoffman, also a state lawmaker, and his wife, Yvette, were targeted and shot at as well but survived.
Street was taken into custody and was released after posting a $2,000 secured bond. He had his first appearance in court in Brunswick County on Monday afternoon, during which the presiding judge modified the bond, increasing it to a $25,000 secured bond, according to a news release from the SBI. Street was immediately taken back into custody and has since been held at the Brunswick County jail.
In an email, SBI spokesman Chad Flowers told The N&O that the agency’s investigation into this case is ongoing.
“As part of the investigation, our agents have been in contact with legislative leaders and individual legislators about these and other perceived online threatening posts,” Flowers said.
Street ran for state auditor in 2020 and 2024.
He won the Republican nomination in 2020 but narrowly lost the general election. At the time, court records showed Street had faced a 2018 stalking charge, his second. While he had not been convicted, he had been given a conditional discharge that included six months of unsupervised probation.
Four Republicans representing coastal districts voted against the shrimp trawling ban last week, with all other Republicans, and all Democrats, voting in favor of House Bill 442.
Senate leader Phil Berger addressed the threats last week.
“It’s not something that we take lightly, and it’s something that is an unfortunate consequence of the way people feel free to speak when they can be either anonymous or semi anonymous on social media,” Berger said.
This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM with the headline "NC man charged with threatening to kill 41 state lawmakers over shrimping ban."
