A West Virginia man on Thursday was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after making threats to White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci and others.
Thomas Patrick Connally Jr. will spend three years in prison followed by three more years of supervised release for his threats against Fauci, former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, a Massachusetts public health official and a religious leader.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Connally after he pleaded guilty for using an anonymous email to make gruesome threats against Fauci and others in late 2020 through mid-2021.
One email to Fauci said that he and his family would be “dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire.”
Connally also threatened to attack and kill Collins and his family if he continued to promote mandatory vaccinations for COVID-19.
“Connally admitted that he sent the threats to Drs. Fauci and Collins with the intent to intimidate or interfere with the performance of their official duties and with the intent to retaliate against Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins for performing their official duties, including discussing COVID-19 and its testing and prevention,” wrote to the Justice Department.
Connally threatened the three remaining figures with physical violence and death as well.
“Everyone has the right to disagree, but you do not have the right to threaten a federal official’s life,” said U.S. Attorney Erek Barron. “Threats like these will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Health and Human Services Deputy Inspector General Christian Schrank added: “The public, including public servants, deserve the utmost safety and the assurance that they can perform their duties without interference.”
