In his plea agreement, Connally admitted to sending a series of emails threatening to harm and/or kill Fauci and his family through an encrypted email service based in Switzerland. The investigation revealed that the encrypted email account was associated with Connally, the Justice Department said.
One of seven emails that Connally sent to Fauci in a day read: “You and your entire family will be dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire,” according to the complaint.
Connally also sent threatening emails to Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health at the US Department of Health and Human Services.
He admitted he felt the threats to Fauci and Collins with the “intent to intimidate or interfere with the performance of their official duties and with the attempt to retaliate against Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins for performing their official duties, including discussing COVID-19 and its testing and prevention,” the Justice Department said.
“Everyone has the right to disagree, but you do not have the right to threaten a federal official’s life,” US Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron said in a statement. “Threats like these will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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