A supporter of the far-right Proud Boys group from New York pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to making threats against Sen-elect. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.
The man, Eduard Florea, 40, of Queens, admitted posting statements online threatening to kill Warnock, who had just won a runoff election for the Senate in Georgia. "Dead man can't pass s--- laws. ... I will fight so help me god," he said in one message, according to prosecutors.
When the FBI searched Florea's house in January, agents found more than a thousand rifle and shotgun rounds. He also pleaded guilty to illegally possessing the ammunition because he had previously been convicted of a felony.
After the assault on the Capitol began on Jan. 6, court documents said, Florea posted a series of messages calling for violence using the name "LoneWolfWar" on Parler, a social media platform popular with conservatives.
"We need to regroup outside of DC and attack from all sides," one message said, according to prosecutors. "Guns cleaned loaded ... got a bunch of guys all armed and ready to deploy," said another.
"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 on January 6, 2021 to thwart the results of the presidential election," said Jacquelyn Kasulis, the acting U.S. attorney in Brooklyn.
Government lawyers said Florea's wife told the FBI that he "was in a frenzy to join the attack" when he saw it unfold on television. She said that he "got dressed in a tactical vest, armed himself with combat knives, packed a bag with more knives, and was ready to travel to Washington, D.C.," but that his planned ride did not pick him up.
Prosecutors described Florea as "a serial perpetrator of domestic violence against his wife" who repeatedly pointed guns at her and held her at knifepoint. They said that in the days after the Capitol siege, he attacked her because she refused to help him raise money for the Proud Boys.
