A former U.S. House candidate has been charged with threatening to send a hitman to kill a political opponent while running for office against U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida).
William Braddock, 41, of St. Petersburg, Florida, charged with intimidation One on June 8, 2021, included a threat to “assemble a hit team from Russia and Ukraine” to take down rivals.
Prosecutors did not explicitly name the victim, but at the time he was feuding with Luna, a Republican, and audio footage showed him calling the congressman a “dead squirrel” and a “bad speeder on the road.” He is said to have been captured.
Braddock then fled the United States to the Philippines and was eventually extradited. He was charged with interstate communication of a genuine threat of harm to another person. According to the Department of Justice. He appeared in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday.
Luna, who said he had recently received “very serious shooting threats,” went on to win that race and was sworn into Congress for the first time in January 2023. She previously lost her seat to former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist during the 2020 election. cycle.
One conservative activist had recorded Braddock making chilling threats against a future Sunshine State representative.
“There really is no need to end someone's life for the good of the American people,” he can be heard saying in the audio. Politico reported.
“It would break my heart. But if it has to be done, it has to be done. Luna suffers from speeding on the roads. She gets run over every day as she leaves her neighborhood. It’s a squirrel.”
Mr Braddock initially denied making the threat in the audio and suggested the audio may have been altered. A judge then gave the go-ahead for a restraining order against him.
He also eventually dropped out of the race. Braddock is currently serving up to five years in prison.
Braddock's indictment comes as federal prosecutors seek to crack down on election-related intimidation and political violence during the 2024 election cycle.
Earlier this month, Luna revealed that her office had received a “very serious shooting threat.” She did not provide further details about the threat due to the ongoing investigation by law enforcement.
She said the threat was “hours before this threat to my office, we witnessed how a second assassination attempt on President Trump's life occurred.”
The Secret Service responded to the second high-profile assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, 78, on September 15, and subsequently arrested Ryan Wesley Luft, 58.
The Sunshine State Republican congressman also claims he was exposed and lashed out at Democratic challenger Whitney Foxx for labeling him a “threat to democracy.”
The newspaper has contacted a Luna spokesperson for comment.
Luna is generally considered the favorite for re-election in Florida's 13th Congressional District. The House Democratic Party's campaign arm recently moved the race to a red-to-blue program.
