A West Virginia man who confessed to threatening to kill Anthony S. Fauci, the chief infectious-diseases expert in the country, pleaded guilty to a federal violation Monday, according to the US attorney's office in Maryland.
Prosecutors said Thomas P. Connally, 56, of Snowshoe, W.Va., used an anonymous account from a secure, encrypted email service provider to communicate threats to Fauci and his family. In one of the emails, they found that Fauci, now one of President Biden's top medical advisors, would be "dragged into the street" with his family, "beaten to death," and burned alive.
Connally sent multiple emails from December 28, 2020, to July 25, 2021, using an anonymous email address from an encrypted email service provider based in Switzerland.
He also admitted to threatening Dr. Francis Collins, the former Director of the NIH, Dr. Rachel Levine, currently the Assistant Secretary for Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services, as well as a Massachusetts public health official and a religious leader, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said, as reported by Washington Post.
The man sent a series of four emails threatening Collins and his family with violence and death because the expert did not stop speaking about the need for "mandatory" COVID-19 vaccinations.
A Retaliation Against Dr. Fauci
According to a press release from the DOJ, Connally's plea agreement indicated his admission of the threats he sent to Dr. Facui and Dr. Collins "with the intent to intimidate or interfere with the performance of their official duties. "
It also stated that the man has the "intent to retaliate against Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins for performing their official duties, including discussing COVID-19 and its testing and prevention."
Connally also acknowledged sending six threatening emails to Levine, then the Secretary of Health for the State of Pennsylvania, through her email account at the Pennsylvania Department of Health on November 24, 2020. According to the DOJ, the subject lines and content of the emails threatened Levine with physical assault and death.
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Connally admitted to sending threatening emails to many persons who have not been named publicly.
The DOJ press release stated that Connally "similarly" sent an email on August 31, 2020, threatening physical attack and death for a public health official in Massachusetts.
"Finally, on April 21, 2021, Connally sent a series of four threatening emails to four individuals who work for a religious institution in Newark, New Jersey. The four emails threatened physical violence and death to a religious leader at the institution," the justice department stated.
What Is The Court Sentence For Connally?
Connally's threats were frightening and explicit, per Law&Crime, and contained homophobic and antisemitic remarks.
Law officials conducted search warrants at Connally's rental home in Snowshoe, West Virginia, as well as his car on July 27, 2021, capturing five Apple laptop computers and two cellular phones.
For threats against a federal officer, Connally faces a maximum term of 10 years in federal prison. Sentencing has been set for August 4, 2022, at 11:30 a.m. by US District Judge Paula Xinis.
US Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the HHS OIG's investigating efforts. Barron commended the federal case's prosecutor, Assistant US Attorneys Rajeev R. Raghavan and Jessica C. Collins, as per the US Department of Justice.
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