Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

A Florida man has been indicted for threatening to kill his political opponent in a 2021 election for Florida’s 13th Congressional District.

What’s the deal:  William Robert Braddock III, a former republican candidate in the 2021 primary for Florida’s 13th Congressional District, is accused of making violent threats against his political opponent and an acquaintance of the opponent. Braddock allegedly told the acquaintance in a phone call that he would “call up [his] Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” to make his opponent “disappear.” After issuing these threats, Braddock fled the United States and was later found residing in the Philippines, from where he was recently deported.  

Who he allegedly threatened: While the DOJ indictment did not say who Braddock allegedly threatened, one of his opponents, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who later won the election, is reportedly the victim. Luna’s office has declined to comment on reports that she was the victim but noted that Congresswoman Luna has “faced a growing number of death threats” and said it is a “more disturbing issue of violence in the political arena.

Braddock faces a federal charge of interstate transmission of a true threat to injure another person, with a potential prison sentence of up to five years.