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Police arrested a Florida man who threatened to decapitate Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Jan 23, 2022, 23:07 IST
Business Insider
Left: Nancy Pelosi. Right: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Left: Rod Lamkey/Pool via AP; Right: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
  • Paul Vernon Hoeffer pleaded guilty on Friday to threatening Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
  • Hoeffer called their offices in March 2019 and November 2020 and threatened to decapitate them.
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Police on Friday arrested a Florida man who's threatened to kill Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nancy Pelosi.

Paul Vernon Hoeffer, 60, pleaded guilty to making threatening phone calls to both House representatives and a district attorney in Illinois, the Justice Department said in a release.

Hoeffer admitted in federal court that he called Pelosi's office in March 2019 and threatened to travel to her office in Washington, DC, to "rattle her head with bullets and cut her head off," the release says.

In November 2020, Hoeffer said he made a similar call to Ocasio-Cortez's New York office, threatening to "rip her head off" and urging her to "sleep with one eye open," according to the release.

He also called Kim Foxx, a prominent Illinois district attorney, and said he would "rattle her brain."

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According to the plea agreement filed in the Southern District of Florida, Hoeffer pleaded guilty to three counts of interstate transmission of threat to kidnap or injure, each of which carries a five-year prison sentence.

Hoeffer will be sentenced in April, and he faces up to 15 years in prison, according to the release from the Justice Department.

"In addition to a term of imprisonment and supervised release, the Court may impose a fine of up to $250,000 dollars and may order forfeiture," the plea agreement says.

Hoeffer's attorney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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