Man pleads guilty to sending threatening emails to Dr. Fauci

A Prince George's County man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to sending emails that threatened to harm and kill Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins, and their families, officials say.

Thomas Patrick Connally Jr., 56, of Greenbelt, was charged with threats against a federal official and interstate communication containing a threat to harm.

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Beginning in December 2020 and up to July 2021, Connally used a Switzerland-based encrypted email service to send a series of emails to Collins and Fauci, according to an affidavit.

One email threatened Fauci and his family would be "dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire."

On April 24, 2021 Collins received four emails from the encrypted address associated with Connally and 30 minutes later, Fauci received a string of seven threatening emails just minutes apart, according to the affidavit.

One of those emails threatened that Fauci would be "hunted, captured, tortured and killed."

Connally was arrested in West Virginia in July 2021.

He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison