A federal indictment unsealed this week charges William Robert Braddock III, a former GOP congressional candidate from Florida, with threatening to kill a political opponent and an acquaintance during a 2021 primary race for Florida's 13th Congressional District, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced.
Braddock, 41, of St. Petersburg, allegedly made multiple threats during a June 8, 2021 phone call, including telling one of the victims that he would "call up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad" to make his primary opponent, referred to in court documents as Victim 1, "disappear." Victim 2, a private citizen and acquaintance of Victim 1, was also targeted in the threats.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Braddock fled the U.S. after making the threats and was residing in the Philippines before being deported and making his first court appearance in Los Angeles earlier this week.
The indictment follows a high-profile political dispute that first surfaced publicly in June 2021, when Anna Paulina Luna, now the Republican Representative for Florida's 13th District, sought a restraining order against Braddock, claiming he had been stalking her and threatening her life. Braddock had been a contender in the GOP primary against Luna.
Luna's lawyer, Erin Olszewski, also filed for a similar restraining order, stating that both Luna and Olszewski were being targeted by Braddock. Braddock, meanwhile, denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated and asserting that he had no plans to harm anyone.
Luna petitioned to extend her temporary restraining order after Braddock contested the allegations, CNBC reported. "I do not feel safe and I am currently in fear for my life from Mr. Braddock," Luna said in her petition.
Braddock's threats, which included explicit plans to harm both his opponent and her acquaintance, are now part of the DOJ's Election Threats Task Force, launched in 2021 to address rising threats against election candidates, workers, and officials.
Braddock is charged with one count of interstate transmission of a true threat to injure another person. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison.
The former GOP congressional candidate is scheduled to face trial in Florida, where federal prosecutors will present evidence linking him to the threats made during the 2021 congressional race.
Luna is up for re-election on Nov. 5. While her public-facing social media accounts are currently focused on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, she has not yet issued a statement regarding Braddock's indictment.
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