- A New York man was arrested in January for making threats to Democratic lawmakers.
- Brendan Hunt, 37, was sentenced to 19 months in prison on Monday.
- Hunt threatened lawmakers like AOC, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer online.
A New York man was sentenced to 19 months in prison for threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Brendan Hunt, 37, was sentenced for "threatening to assault and murder members of the United States Congress to impede, interfere with and intimidate those members and to retaliate against them on account of their performance of their official duties," the Justice Department said.
Insider reported that Hunt, an assistant court analyst, was arrested in January after authorities said he called for "the public execution" of Congressional Democrats on social media.
"Trump, we want actual revenge on Democrats. Meaning, we want you to hold a public execution of Pelosi, AOC, Schumer, etc. And if you don't do it, the citizenry will. We're not voting in another rigged election," Hunt wrote on Facebook in December under an alias. "Start up the firing squads, mow down these commies, and let's take America back!"
During Hunt's arraignment, Assistant US Attorney David Kessler called Hunt's calls to violence "chilling," and a federal magistrate judge denied Hunt's request for bail because of the "seriousness of danger to the community."
NBC reported that Hunt was an Occupy Wall Street activist and the son of a retired Queens family court judge.
Insider previously reported that during Hunt's trial prosecutors said he was "a Nazi sympathizer" who wanted former President Donald Trump to declare martial law so he could rule the US in the same way Adolf Hitler did in Germany.
Prosecutors also said Hunt urged followers on social media to return to the Capitol after the insurrection and "kill your senators, slaughter them all," HuffPost reported.
The New York Times reported that Hunt also became friends with singer R. Kelly, who was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking in September, during his time in custody. The two were cellmates before Kelly's trial.
According to the Times, Hunt drew comic strips while he was in custody, including one that featured Kelly. His lawyers used those comic strips to try and show "a more sensitive side" of Hunt, the Times reported.
Hunt's lawyers argued for a lesser sentence, saying he had changed in the 10 months he was held but prosecutors argued for a longer sentence.
United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen said the 19 months were appropriate for his crime.
The Times reported that in a letter to the court, Hunt criticized prosecutors for depicting him as "some neo-Nazi white supremacist." Hunt also apologized to his family and wrote that he saw conservatives being treated unfairly but that his response "was terribly misguided, was wrong, and I've paid a heavy price."