Proud supporter of boys with 1,000 threatened rifle bullets, according to US

A Queens man who told federal agents he wanted to join the far-right group Proud Boys was charged on Wednesday with a weapons offense after messages he posted on social media to the Times of the riot on Capitol Hill have sounded the alarm bells, according to prosecutors and court documents.

The man, Eduard Florea, was arrested Tuesday evening after a search of his home revealed an arsenal of more than 1,000 rifle cartridges, two dozen shotgun shells, 75 military-style combat knives, two axes and two swords, prosecutors said. No weapons were found.

The arrest of Mr Florea, a 40-year-old software engineer, came amid an escalating nationwide manhunt for those who broke into the U.S. Capitol last week in part of a violent outburst of supporters of President Trump who wanted to overturn the election results. .

Although Mr Florea was not one of the many people prosecuted for participating in the riot, the police considered him threatening enough to arrive at his home in an armored vehicle to arrest him. His lawyer, disputing the approach, described the vehicle as a “military tank”.

Among the comments that worried authorities and prompted the search of his home, the complaint says Mr Florea appeared to threaten Georgia Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock around the time Mr Warnock was declared the winner. a seat in the US Senate.

At around 1 a.m. on January 6, as he posted as “LoneWolfWar” in a group discussion thread about Mr. Warnock on the social media website Speak, the complaint indicates that Mr. Florea wrote that “Dead men cannot pass laws,” with added obscenity to emphasize.

Later that day, also on Speak, Mr Florea wrote that he had three “armed patriot” cars in a “trailer” bound for Washington, according to the complaint. As the Capitol Riot unfolded, he wrote that the days of peace and courtesy were over and that “here in New York we are rich targets.”

“I’m going to fight so help me my god,” he added.

In a remote Brooklyn federal court bail hearing, Mr Florea’s attorney pointed out that the FBI concluded that his client, despite his online bravado, no had no car and had not been to Washington.

Nonetheless, the tenor of her social media comments was worrying enough to heighten authorities’ interest, especially when it matches her criminal status, prosecutors and the complaint say.

In 2014, Mr Florea was convicted of illegal firearm possession after a search of the Staten Island home where he lived revealed a stock comprising a semi-automatic shotgun and an assault rifle AR-15, said a federal prosecutor during the hearing on Wednesday.

Mr Florea bought the guns legally outside of New York City, but was not supposed to have them in all five boroughs, his lawyer, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, said at the hearing. He served a year in prison following his conviction, she said.

Mr. Florea is now federally accused of being a criminal in possession of ammunition. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Asked by FBI agents after being taken into police custody on Tuesday, Mr Florea said he supported the Proud Boys, a far-right organization that had endorsed the violence and Mr Trump, and asked to join the ranks of the group, a federal prosecutor said. during the bail hearing.

He told officers he visited Washington with members of the Proud Boys in December and vandalized a church there, but was not yet a member of the group because he had not attended the number. required meetings, said the prosecutor.

“It’s not just rhetoric,” said Francisco Navarro, the prosecutor, opposing the granting of bail to Mr. Florea. “It’s rhetoric backed by action.”

“Given its willingness to go to Washington with criminals, the government considers the accused to be particularly dangerous in the current political environment,” Navarro added.

Ms Eisner-Grynberg, Mr Florea’s lawyer, told the judge her client did not tolerate the “behavior” that had taken place on Capitol Hill last Wednesday.

“You can’t condemn what happened on Capitol Hill and hang out with the Proud Boys,” Mr. Navarro replied.

Ms Eisner-Grynberg argued Mr Florea should be released because he had not been charged with making threats online and many of the statements he made were false. She also said that “the rhetoric was extremely loud on all sides” on the day of the riot.

The judge, US investigating judge Sanket Bulsara, strongly rejected this argument.

“He’s not just a talker,” Judge Bulsara said. “And frankly, I think it is deeply incorrect to make that suggestion.”

Siding with the government, the judge refused Mr. Florea’s release on bail.

In arguing against Mr Florea’s release, Mr Navarro also cited a 2014 press article that cited a criminal complaint describing how Mr Florea choked his wife until she nearly passed out when she was she was holding their little girl and then threatened to kill them both with a knife.

Ms Eisner-Grynberg said these claims were dismissed. She also said that after extensive counseling Mr Florea and his wife, who now have two children, reconciled and the woman had no concerns about him being home with her.

William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.