Florida man threatened political rival with Russian-Ukrainian hit squad: DOJ

The Justice Division charged a former main opponent of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., with threatening to ship a “Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” to kill his political rival. 

William Robert Braddock III, 41, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was charged with threatening to kill his main opponent within the 2021 election for the thirteenth Congressional District of Florida, and a non-public citizen and acquaintance of his opponent, the Justice Division introduced Friday. The indictment, unsealed within the Center District of Florida on Thursday, describes the focused people as solely “Sufferer 1” and “Sufferer 2.” 

On June 8, 2021, prosecutors say Braddock allegedly made a number of threats to injure and kill his main opponent throughout a telephone name with the second sufferer, particularly stating that he would “name up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” to make the rival candidate disappear. The DOJ mentioned Braddock left the US after making the alleged threats and was later discovered to be residing within the Philippines. 

Braddock was not too long ago deported from the Philippines to the US and made his first court docket look in Los Angeles on Thursday. 

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna attends a marketing campaign rally for former President Trump on the Aero Middle in Wilmington, North Carolina, Sept. 21, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP through Getty Pictures)

Luna, an Air Pressure veteran and former media guide, was not named within the indictment. Whereas she was operating for Congress, nevertheless, Luna contended in 2021 civil court docket paperwork that Braddock, a fellow GOP challenger and former Marine, was stalking her and needed her lifeless. 

A choose granted Luna and a conservative activist and buddy of hers, Erin Olszewski, a brief restraining order in opposition to Braddock. He subsequently dropped out of the race, denying the allegations and citing publicity from the case. 

Politico reported on the time that Olszewski had secretly recorded a telephone name with Braddock by which he mentioned an alleged “Russian and Ukrainian hit squad” may kill Luna inside 24 hours. “Luna’s going to go down and I hope it’s by herself,” Braddock allegedly mentioned within the recording, based on Politico, which mentioned it had obtained the recording in June 2021. “For the higher or the nice of the vast majority of the individuals, we’ve obtained to sacrifice the few.”

In a textual content message to Politico then, Braddock reportedly mentioned the tape “could even be altered and edited” and that he could convey civil lawsuits and search legal fees in opposition to these in possession of the recording. 

In court docket proceedings concerning whether or not the restraining order can be made everlasting, Luna, who was endorsed by former President Trump twice, testified that she had solely transient in-person contact with Braddock at a political occasion, however heard from a number of acquaintances that he was allegedly making threats to have her killed.

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna speaks on the Republican Nationwide Conference in Milwaukee on July 17, 2024. (Invoice Clark/CQ-Roll Name, Inc through Getty Pictures)

“Mr. Braddock clearly hated my guts and needed to harm me,” Luna mentioned in court docket, based on The Related Press. “I began getting very afraid of him. It was horrifying, and it nonetheless is.”

“I believe he’s an evil particular person,” she mentioned in September 2021. “I believe he has positively emotionally terrorized me.”

Olszewski testified that she secretly recorded a telephone name she initiated with Braddock by which he allegedly claimed the purported Russian-Ukrainian hit squad would reply rapidly if he made a single telephone name – and in addition allegedly made veiled threats in opposition to her three youngsters if she repeated what he mentioned. Olszewski mentioned she shared the contents of the Braddock name she recorded on an iPad with Luna, and each girls referred to as police.

Within the new indictment unsealed final week, Braddock is charged with one rely of interstate transmission of a real menace to injure one other particular person. 

He faces a most penalty of 5 years in jail if convicted, prosecutors mentioned.  

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The case was introduced in relation to the Justice Division’s Election Threats Process Pressure, which was introduced by Legal professional Common Merrick Garland in 2021 to deal with violent threats in opposition to election employees. 

Fox Information Digital reached out to Luna’s workplace for touch upon Sunday however didn’t instantly hear again. A spokesperson for the GOP congresswoman declined to remark to NBC Information concerning the indictment however mentioned Luna has “confronted a rising variety of loss of life threats” within the final month, signaling a “broader and extra disturbing subject of violence within the political enviornment.”

The Related Press contributed to this report.