A New York man was sentenced Tuesday to just over a year in prison for threatening to kill congressional staff and making more than 12,000 harassing phone calls to dozens of lawmakers.
Federal prosecutors announced that Ade Salim Lilly, 35, was sentenced to 13 months in prison with 36 months bail in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Lilly pleaded guilty in May to threatening to kidnap or injure someone in interstate commerce and making repeated harassing phone calls.
Lilly made more than 12,000 calls between February 2022 and November 2023 to about 54 lawmakers across the country in both their state and Washington offices. Court Documents.
During the call with the staff member, Lilly “became angry and used vulgar and harassing language toward the staff member,” according to court documents. Staff members repeatedly asked him to stop calling, and U.S. Capitol Police told him his calls were unsolicited and prohibited by law due to their harassing nature.
In one call made to a Maryland congressional office in October 2022, Lilly allegedly told a staffer, “I'm going to kill you. I'm going to run you over. I'm going to kill you with a bomb or a grenade.”
Prosecutors said Lilly used “*67” to hide his phone number.
Following an investigation by the Capitol Police and the U.S. Marshals Service, Lilly was indicted and agents were sent to Puerto Rico to arrest him in November 2023.
“From free speech to harassment and intimidation, we will enforce the law whenever someone crosses the line,” Capitol Police Chief Thomas Munger said in a statement. “Our investigators have worked for years to unravel this complex case, and this demonstrates their dedication to protecting Members of Congress.”
