A Queens man was convicted on Wednesday for making calls for the murder of Democratic lawmakers in a video clip – and could now serve up to 10 years in prison.
After a week of trial in Brooklyn federal court, 37-year-old Brendan Hunt was convicted of assaulting a US officer and threatening to murder – the only count to post an 88-second video in the wake of iTitol on January 6 . Riot titled “Kill Your Senators. Slaughter Them All.”
However, the panel found him not guilty for all the alleged threats that formed the basis of the charge – including a December 6 Facebook rant in which he called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, for the public execution of the rape . And Sen. Charles Schumer.
“We have to show up with our guns, and we need to kill these motherfares,” he rallied in a video uploaded to the bitch on 8 January. “Get your guns, show DC, and literally spray these motherfares. That’s the only option.”
The former court employee took the stand in his own defense on Tuesday, telling jurors that he was drunk and intoxicated when the statement was made.
“I was really just letting the steam go,” he said. “It was actually more online stigma than anything else.”
Hunt’s lawyers argued that he did not pose a real threat and that his violent rant was accompanied by protected speech.
“With today’s verdict, the defendant is now a convicted felon, not his defendant, for racist rents, but because he threatened to attack and kill members of Congress in order to prevent them from carrying out their constitutional duties Go, and it is a federal crime, ”said acting U.S. Attorney Mark Lesko after the verdict.
“This office will not tolerate threats of violence against public officials who are entrusted to uphold the Constitution.”
He will be sentenced on June 22 and will remain behind bars for a decade.
With post wires
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