NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A New York City man was convicted by a federal court Friday for threatening to kill Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Greg Gutfeld, as well as West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin.
Rickey Johnson, 48, threatened the trio via direct message and videos on Instagram.
“Rather than express his political differences constructively, Rickey Johnson escalated his discord by instilling fear,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “Johnson's attempts to scare and stifle a U.S. Senator and two Fox News hosts were federal crimes for which he has now been convicted by a New York jury.”
On Jan. 30 2021, Johnson sent direct messages to Gutfeld that threatened, “you will be killed," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On Feb. 3 2021, Johnson, posted public videos in which he threatened to kill Sen. Manchin, Gutfeld and Ingraham. Johnson declared that Sen. Manchin was “dead” and would be “executed," told Gutfeld that he was "going to take [his] life;" and said that he would “kill" Ingraham with his "bare hands."
He was convicted on two counts of making interstate threats and one count of threatening a federal official, for which he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 25.
Related
Related
