A Tarrant County man is behind bars after being accused of threatening the life of a county commissioner. Fort Worth police say 27-year-old Dylan Lofton left Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez a series of voicemails using racist language and threatening to kill him. “Really shocking t o get death threats in the middle of the night,” said Ramirez, the commissioner for Precinct 4. Just before 4 AM on Wednesday, Ramirez got an urgent message from his staff saying a man had called his office multiple times. “There was racially charged language,” said Ramirez. “Obviously racial slurs.” In an arrest affidavit, Fort Worth police said the caller left Ramirez three voicemails containing racial slurs and threats. NBC 5 reviewed the messages, which were too graphic to air in their entirety. “I’ll f– blow your a- up,” the caller said in one message. “Do you f– understand, Manny?” Ramirez called Fort Worth police and reported the messages. On Friday, the department’s Homeland Security Unit arrested Dylan Lofton, charging him with a Terroristic Threat Against a Public Servant. Arrest documents showed investigators traced the number that left the messages to Lofton’s apartment in Arlington, and when they knocked on the door, Lofton’s Irish accent matched the voice heard on the phone. The documents said family members told police Lofton had recently struggled with substance abuse issues and believed himself to be Irish – often speaking with an Irish accent. “You know, threatening my family, threatening myself, it’s just, it’s become disgusting, the level of rhetoric that’s out there now,” said Ramirez. “And I served as a police officer for 15 years, so I know exactly how quickly threats of violence turn into violence.” Ramirez said he’d never met Lofton before receiving the messages. The State Bar of Texas website listed Lofton as a licensed attorney who practices in Fort Worth. In a 2017 article, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified Lofton as a precinct chair coordinator with the Tarrant County Democrats. Ramirez said for the moment, he didn’t know if politics played a role in the threats. He thanked Fort Worth and Tarrant County law enforcement for acting swiftly to prevent the possibility of violence. “I hope that there’s an awareness out there that the level of rhetoric and the level of violent threats is growing, and it’s unacceptable,” said Ramirez. Lofton is being held on a $100,000 bond and has no listed defense attorney as of Monday night. We reached out to his listed phone number but did not hear back. NBC 5 reached out to the Tarrant County Democrats to ask if Lofton is currently serving with the organization. We’re waiting for a response. ...read more read less