Mysterious death threat note has SLED guarding McMaster

From the teller window, the midday bank drop box deposit looked mundane. The mysterious reference to “Jesuits” on the note wasn’t. Neither was the death threat against Henry McMaster, the state attorney general and a GOP candidate for governor.

The note has State Law Enforcement Division agents guarding McMaster around the clock and asking the public for help to identify the person who dropped the note.

The note was dropped into the box at Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union on Dorchester Road in the middle at 11 a.m. May 18, in the midday of a busy Friday of bank business. In an effort to find the person, state police Friday released images from bank surveillance, after identifying others in a line of customers who used the box.

They also released a single word from the note, “Jesuits,” hoping it might help the identification.

McMaster, one of four candidates seeking the GOP nomination for governor, was in the Charleston area earlier this week, meeting with former county Republican Party chairmen on Wednesday. He held a fundraiser in Columbia on Thursday — his 63rd birthday — and was expected to travel to Myrtle Beach on Friday to throw out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game.

The two-term Republican does not typically have a security detail, though he could request one if he felt it necessary, Lloyd said.

Persons with information regarding any individual who has made direct or implicit threats regarding McMaster are asked to contact the State Law Enforcement Division, 803-896-7133.