A Miami man pled guilty to posting online threats against US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US State Department Special Envoy Kristi Noem, the US Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida announced on Wednesday.
The 47-year-old man, Jon Christopher Enriquez, had made three posts on Twitter/X threatening the two US officials on May 27. The threats included specific times at which the officials would be executed.
"Secretary Rubio, I guess the only way that you are going to shut your mouth is through DEATH," one of Enriquez's posts read.
Other posts read "Rubio AND Noem are to be executed at 16:00," and "Rubio, Noem... You have been found guilty of 18 USC Section 2384: Seditious Conspiracy. Both of you will be executed at 16:30. Best wishes to your future endeavors."
Enriquez faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each of the three counts of transmitting threats to which he pleaded guilty.
Threatening public officials not protected as political speech
“Threatening to execute public officials is not political speech, it is a federal crime,” said US Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. "Today’s guilty plea makes clear that those who attempt to terrorize public servants or intimidate them through threats of violence will be swiftly identified, prosecuted, and held accountable.”
According to the US State Department, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security led the investigation against Enriquez, with support from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the City of Miami Police Department, and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.