You are reading

Middle Village Man to Do Prison Time for Making Online Threats to Kill U.S. Senator

Police raid the house of Eduard Florea, 41, in Middle Village on Jan. 12, 2021, following online statements he made about carrying out violent attacks in Washington (Citizen)

Dec. 17, 2021 By Christian Murray

A Middle Village man who posted online statements about leading an armed group of “patriots” to Washington and killing a U.S. senator has been sentenced in Brooklyn federal court to 33 months in prison.

Eduard Florea, 41, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in August to a weapons charge and making threats—after federal investigators nabbed him after uncovering some of his online postings.

Investigators found a series of threatening online statements he made on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, 2021, where he called for the killing of U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock.

His statements came just after Warnock had been elected in one of Georgia’s run-off elections — and just prior to the violence unleashed on the Capitol.

According to court documents, Florea posted statements such as “dead men can’t pass [expletive] laws” about Warnock as well as “the time for peace and civility is over … it’s time to unleash some violence.”

He made these posts under the username “LoneWolfWar” on the now-suspended Parler app. He also wrote that he was organizing an armed group to descend on D.C.

“3 cars of armed patriots heading into DC from NY/ Guns cleaned loaded … got a bunch of guys all armed and ready to deploy … we are just waiting for the word,” Florea wrote on Jan. 6 — the day violent supporters stormed the Capitol.

Florea, a self-proclaimed Proud Boy, was arrested Jan. 12 at his home on 76th Street near Eliot Avenue. The FBI raided his house and found that he illegally possessed thousands of rounds of ammunition.

He pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting threats to injure as well as one count of possessing ammunition after having been convicted of a felony.

“With today’s sentence, the defendant faces serious consequences for threatening the life of U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock as part of his effort to foment violence at the Capital on Jan. 6, 2021 in connection with attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace in a statement Thursday.

“This Office is deeply committed to protecting our democratic institutions and preserving our democracy, and will vigorously prosecute those who would undermine our founding principles as a nation by threatening the safety of our elected representatives or those who seek elected office.”

Florea had a previous gun possession conviction. In 2014, police found more than a dozen illegal firearms — including at least one machine gun —in his possession.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Brooklyn teen charged with murder of 19-year-old in front of Ridgewood school last month: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted a Brooklyn teenager for murder in the second degree and other crimes in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old in Ridgewood on April 22.

The shooting took place on the same street as Joseph F. Quinn Intermediate School 77. The 16-year-old gunman from Flushing Avenue in Brooklyn was arraigned Friday in Queens Supreme Court and faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

Woman sought for attacking fellow passenger aboard the R train in Forest Hills: NYPD

Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills and Transit District 20 are looking for a woman who allegedly assaulted an older woman on board an R train on the night of Sunday, May 25.

The 53-year-old victim was riding a Manhattan-bound train near the Forest Hills-71st Street station just after 9 p.m. when she was approached by a stranger, and the women engaged in a verbal dispute. The argument escalated into violence when the suspect slapped the woman in the face and punched her in the back of the head before running off the train in an unknown direction, police said Thursday.