Man charged after racist, threatening voicemails left for Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Sheriff Siddiq Kamara

A 40-year-old Havertown, Pennsylvania, man has been arrested and charged after racist and threatening voicemails were left for Delaware County Sheriff Siddiq Kamara last week.

Sean Keenan is charged with counts of terroristic threats, ethnic intimidation, harassment and disorderly conduct, District Attorney Tanner Rouse said in a news release.

Earlier on Tuesday, sources told CBS News Philadelphia that an arrest in this case was imminent.

On Monday, July 20, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office released a voicemail that was left on Kamara's official telephone line during the prior weekend. Investigators then began working to determine who left the voicemail message.

Investigators said in a criminal complaint that they cross-referenced the numbers that left the voicemails and traced them to Keenan. Law enforcement visited Keenan at his home last week, and according to the complaint, he admitted to making threats and using racist language.

Keenan was arrested and charged Tuesday and has been arraigned on $100,000 bail.

Kamara, a first-term Democrat, said in a statement last week that he wouldn't let the threats deter his work.

Kamara, a reform-minded sheriff who took office in January as the youngest sheriff in the United States, is a lifelong Delco resident who was raised in Upper Darby.

Kamara is the cousin of Fanta Bility, the 8-year-old who was shot and killed when Sharon Hill police officers fired into a crowd at an Academy Park High School football game in 2021. 

In response to the shooting, Kamara started the Fanta Bility Foundation, which advocates for police training improvements and community safety initiatives. 

Before becoming sheriff, Kamara spent time with the military and other roles in law enforcement.

Rouse said that threats against others are taken seriously, and thanked the detective and deputy district attorney who worked on the case.

"The words used in the voicemails to Sheriff Kamara were vile, disgusting, and completely unacceptable. There is a time when language crosses the line into criminal behavior and that is exactly what we have here. Threats of violence, most especially racially motivated violence, have no place in Delaware County, regardless of who the intended victim may be," Rouse said.