MIAMI — A Florida man pleaded guilty to threatening to execute United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, for which he could face up to 15 years in prison, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported this Wednesday.
Jon Christopher Enriquez, 47, of Miami, pleaded guilty before the Southern District Court of Florida to posting death threats on May 27 in
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason A. Reding Quiñones, justified the charges by arguing that “threatening to execute public officials is not free speech, it is a federal crime.”
“@SecRubio @StateDept Silence. Before you start thinking that the United States owns Cuba and start talking trash and calling Cuba a failure, the Armed Forces Criminal Court is going to begin an investigation into you as a failure for your nation,” read the first message, according to a court document.
“Rubio, Noem… They have been found guilty under Title 18 of the US Code, Section 2384: Seditious Conspiracy. Both will be executed at 4:30 p.m. We wish them the best in their future endeavors,” he continued.
Then, in a second message, the Florida resident wrote: “@SecRubio I guess the only way you’ll shut your mouth is through DEATH.”
And in the last one, Enríquez maintained that “Rubio and Noem are going to be executed at 4:00 p.m.,” and mentioned in the publication the Telemundo channel so that it would be aware of the alleged plan.
Pleads guilty
The DOJ said in a statement that the man pleaded guilty to three counts of “transmitting threats through interstate communications,” for which he faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each count, which would make 15 in total.
A federal district judge has yet to determine the final sentence, the agency explained.
