A 41-year-old man from Queens, N.Y., pleaded guilty to threatening to kill U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) before and during the Jan. 6 insurrection. Eduard Florea, who supported the far-right group the Proud Boys, also pleaded guilty to a weapons offense after a search of his home by federal agents found more than 1,000 rounds of rifle ammunition that he illegally possessed because of a prior felony conviction.
The New York Times reports that Florea’s January arrest came during a national search for those who broke into the U.S. Capitol.
“With today’s guilty plea, Florea admits to threatening the life of a successful candidate for the U.S. Senate and to urging others to take up arms to unleash violence at the Capitol,” Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “This office is deeply committed to protecting our democratic institutions and to using all available tools to preserve the public safety, uphold the rule of law and support the peaceful transfer of power.”
Here is more on this story, per the Times:
Mr. Florea posted his violent comments on Parler, a social networking app popular with conservatives, under the name, “LoneWolfWar.” A day before a mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, Mr. Florea, who was not in Washington, posted on Parler that everyone needed to “come to an agreement” and “go armed” to the Capitol so they “could take back Washington,” according to court records.
Minutes later, Mr. Florea wrote that Jan. 6 could become “the day the war kicks off,” adding that he was “definitely slicing a throat” in Washington, according to court records.
At 12:42 a.m. on Jan. 6, Mr. Florea referenced Mr. Warnock online and said, “Dead men can’t pass” laws, according to court records.
Later that day, after the storming of the U.S. Capitol had begun, Mr. Florea posted that he intended to go to Washington with a group of armed individuals who would be ready to engage in more violence, federal prosecutors said.
While 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 the Capitol with “guns cleaned loaded,” according to court records.
He faces up to 15 years in prison when he is up for sentencing on Nov. 19. Until then, he will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.