A man from New York is facing federal charges after making violent threats against elected officials on social media, including threatening to “blow up” the FBI and calling for the “extermination” of Democrats and their families.
Brian Maiorana, 54, was arrested at his Staten Island home early Tuesday. He was charged with threatening to kill, as well as calling for others to kill protesters, law enforcement members, and elected officials, NBC 4 New York reported.
A Staten Island man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly threatening to kill — or ordering others on social media to kill — protesters, Democrats, politicians and law enforcement members, according to FBI officials. https://t.co/y9n6l5qt1v
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) November 11, 2020
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was among those elected officials threatened, according to court papers filed in the Eastern District of New York. Maiorana referred to Schumer as “the Jew Senator from Jew York” and said that “nothing is off the table,” including blowing up the FBI, prosecutors stated. (RELATED: LA Man Taken Into Custody After Posting Video Threatening Violence If Biden Won The Election)
“The Department of Justice will not stand idly by when people like the defendant allegedly threaten to kill elected officials, lawful protesters and law enforcement simply because of animus towards the outcome of an election,” Acting United States Attorney Seth DuCharme said, per NBC 4. “Americans have a constitutional right to voice their opinions, but this Office will not tolerate violence or threats of violence used to intimidate others with whom they disagree.”
The threats began in September and lasted just a few days after the election, according to court papers. These threats included suggesting that “pipe bombs need to be thrown into these mobs of potentially non violent violent protesters” and “carnage needs to come in the form of extermination of anyone that claims to be a democrat” as well as their family members.
The 54-year-old was convicted of statutory sexual assault in 2007 and is a registered sex offender in New York, NBC 4 said in their report. This prohibits him from owning a gun, however, the court papers stated Maiorana bought gun parts for a semi-automatic handgun in June and July earlier this year.
He appeared before a judge in a Brooklyn federal court Tuesday evening and was ordered detained, per NBC 4. His lawyer did not seek bail and declined to comment on his client’s threats.
Maiorana will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. His preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 24.