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A New York man who supported far-right group Proud Boys pleaded guilty on Monday to threatening to kill Raphael Warnock, a newly elected senator from Georgia, before and during the storming of the Capitol on January 6.
The man, Eduard Florea, 41, of Queens, pleaded guilty to uttering violent threats against Mr Warnock, who had just won the second round of the senatorial elections in Georgia and was then sworn in on January 20. a tough time to vote for communist policies when it rocks with the fish, ”Mr Florea posted online Jan. 5, using a curse before the fish.
Mr Florea also pleaded guilty in Brooklyn Federal District Court to a weapons-related offense after federal agents discovered a large arsenal in his New York home in January, including more than 1,000 rounds of rifle ammunition. which he illegally possessed by virtue of a previous felony conviction. prosecutors said in a statement.
Mr Florea, a software engineer whose arrest in January came amid an escalating nationwide manhunt for those who broke into the U.S. Capitol, will face up to 15 years in prison when sentenced on Nov. 29, federal prosecutors said. Mr. Florea is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
“With today’s guilty plea, Florea admits to threatening the life of an elected candidate for the US Senate and urging others to take up arms to unleash violence on Capitol Hill,” Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, US lawyer acting for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “This office is deeply committed to protecting our democratic institutions and using all available tools to preserve public safety, uphold the rule of law and support the peaceful transfer of power.”
Mia Eisner-Grynberg, lawyer for Mr Florea, declined to comment on Monday.
Mr Warnock’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Warnock’s election victory and that of Jon Ossoff, another Democrat from Georgia, effectively strengthened control of the US Senate for Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as a tiebreaker in the 50-50 House.
Mr Florea posted his violent comments on Talk, a social networking app popular with conservatives, under the name “LoneWolfWar”. A day before a crowd of President Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Mr Florea, who was not in Washington, posted on Speak that everyone had to ‘get along’ and ‘go s ‘arm’ on Capitol Hill so that they “could take back Washington,” court records show.
Minutes later, Mr Florea wrote that Jan. 6 could become “the day the war begins,” adding that he “would definitely slit his throat” in Washington, according to court records.
At 12:42 am on January 6, Mr Florea referred to Mr Warnock online and said “Dead men cannot pass” laws, according to court records.
Later that day, after the storming of the United States Capitol began, Mr. Florea announced that he intended to travel to Washington with a group of armed individuals who would be ready to engaging in more violence, federal prosecutors said.
As the Capitol was under siege, federal prosecutors said, Mr Florea posted: “It’s time to unleash some violence.”
Mr Florea continued to post threatening comments that day, promising to be “armed and ready to deploy” to Capitol Hill with “cleaned weapons loaded,” according to court records.
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