NEW ULM — The Brown County Community Services Building, 1117 Center, was closed to the public Thursday, Sept. 21 after a county employee received a voicemail with threats of violence Sept. 9, 2023.

Services continue in the building. Paperwork can be placed in the parking lot dropbox. Community Services can be called at 507-359-6500.

Two felony threats of violence charges and a gross misdemeanor harassment charge were filed against James Allen Randall, 42, address unknown. An arrest warrant was requested in charges filed Sept. 21, 2023.

According to court documents, New Ulm Police Chief Dave Borchert learned of a voicemail received by a county employee Sept. 9, 2023 from a “hostile sounding male” that included threatening “to burn the Brown County department to the ground, burn the whole city and county to the ground” and included screaming and cursing until the call was terminated.

New Ulm Police Investigator Tara Martin faxed an emergency disclosure from Verizon for the phone number and learned it pinged in Sacramento, Ca. before Randall turned the phone off.

At 4:58 p.m., Sept. 19, 2023, New Ulm Police Patrolman Trevor Kruse took a call from a Veterans Affairs Crisis Line worker who said he took a call an hour earlier from Randall who voiced frustrations with New Ulm Police, Brown County Human Services, and attorneys Flaherty & Hood, who serve the New Ulm City Attorney.

The crisis line worker told officer Kruse that Randall said he had homicidal ideations and planned to act on them when he gets a rifle, before hanging up on the crisis line worker.

Later that day, New Ulm Police Senior Investigator Jeff Hohensee got a call from Randall that included shouting and swearing at Investigator Hohensee. Verizon records showed the call ping location was in Sacramento.

Randall continually called several local agencies including New Ulm Police, Brown County Probation, Brown County Human Services, Brown County Dispatch and Brown County Public Health.

Randall has a Brown County felony warrant for 3rd-degree assault. His felony probation was transferred to Stearns County which requested a warrant issue for failure to maintain probation agent contact. St. Cloud police expressed concerns about Randall’s March 2023 comments about a police officer suicide.

In addition, Randall was recently summoned for violation of an harassment restraining order (HRO) in Brown County Court. He also has a pending HRO violation in a court file.