(The Center Square) - A bench warrant has been issued after a man accused of leaving a threat on the voicemail of state Rep. Mark Gillen failed to appear for a scheduled proceeding in Berks County Court, according to District Attorney John Adams.

The warrant was issued after Kenneth D. Yochum of Hamilton County, Ohio, failed to show for a disposition hearing scheduled for Wednesday in his case involving misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats, threats and other improper influence in official and political matters, and harassment.

"He was supposed to appear and he did not," Adams said of Yochum. The defendant, Adams said, recently has stopped working with one lawyer and plans to work with a different one.

Yochum was arrested months ago following the investigation of a voicemail left at Gillen's district office by a male caller on the morning of Dec. 17. A police affidavit said part of the voicemail was "... if Pennsylvania thinks they're going to come after our guns" followed by pair of words that included an obscenity, followed by " ... blood will roll. You get it?"

The last several years have seen a string of violent incidents involving political figures in Pennsylvania and the nation.

When President Donald Trump was campaigning for the office in July, 2024, he was slightly wounded by a shooter at a campaign rally in Butler County. Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping in the Governor's Mansion in Harrisburg last year when an intruder attacked the home with firebombs. A few months later, a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were murdered in their home.

According to the court docket, the proceeding scheduled for Wednesday was a "disposition hearing" at which judges may learn whether prosecution and defense attorneys are working on a deal or if the case is likely to go to trial. Gillen said on Thursday that he had not been asked to appear at the Wednesday court proceeding.

"There was not a necessity for me to be there," he said. "Justice is going to prevail. It doesn't require my presence in the courtroom."

Adams, the district attorney, said threats and harassment of political figures is a disturbing reality in public life. He said he has endured harassment himself.

"There are ways to handle your disagreements with politicians in a professional manner," Adams said. "Frankly, it is becoming much more difficult to stomach some of the complaints we all undergo on our jobs."