A Maryland man has been arrested for allegedly sending emails threatening White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and his family, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.
Thomas Patrick Connally Jr. was charged Monday with threatening a federal official and interstate communication containing threats to harm Fauci, the criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland revealed.
Federal investigators said in an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint that Connally, 56, used an encrypted email account based in Switzerland to send the emails threatening to harm and kill Fauci and members of his family, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
ALERT: Man charged in Maryland with sending threatening emails to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Threatening to beat, kill and lynchMan criticizes vaccines too, per feds
Court docs cite growing number of threats against Dr Fauci. Security is enhanced
(Warning — vulgar & triggers) pic.twitter.com/YJ71RyZ0vk
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 27, 2021
Fauci began receiving the threatening messages to his work email at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in December 2020, the criminal complaint stated. The first email included the subject line, “Hope you get a bullet in your compromised satanic skull today.” The email also called Fauci a “lying sack of sh*t.”
In the December email, Connally further wrote Fauci is a “freemason criminal” and added, “I hope you get a rope around your vile elf neck,” the criminal complaint stated.
At least seven emails were sent from the encrypted account on April 24 alone, the DOJ press release noted. In one of the emails, Connally threatened that Fauci and his family would be “dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire.”
In the series of emails sent to Fauci in April, Connally also threatened his family if he talked about “mandatory vaccines.” The most recent email from the encrypted account was sent July 21, according to the criminal complaint. (RELATED: Biden Says He’s Considering A Vaccine Mandate For Federal Employees)
Fauci received a security detail and “protective operations” from the Department of Health and Human Services in late March 2020, following a “growing number of threats” directed toward him and his family, the criminal complaint noted.
Connally is expected to have an initial appearance later Wednesday at the U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan, according to the DOJ press release. A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt, though Connally faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.