Maryland man threatened Fauci, vowed to ‘set on fire’ him and his family, Justice Department says

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A Maryland man is now facing federal charges after allegedly sending threatening emails to Dr. Anthony Fauci, including one vowing that he and his family would be "dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire," the Justice Department says. 

Thomas Connally, 56, of Greenbelt, risks being sentenced to a decade in federal prison if convicted on charges of threats against a federal official and interstate communication containing a threat to harm. 

"We will never tolerate violent threats against public officials," Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lenzner said in a statement. "Our public health officials deserve our thanks and appreciation for their tireless work, and we will not hesitate to bring charges against those individuals who seek to use fear to silence these public servants." 

Dr. Anthony Fauci responds to accusations by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as he testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on July 20. (AP) (AP)

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The Justice Department, citing an affidavit and criminal complaint, alleges that "from December 28, 2020 to July 21, 2021, Connally used an email account from a provider of secure, encrypted email services based in Switzerland, to send a series of emails to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the current Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ("NIAID") and the Chief Medical Advisor to President of the United States, threatening to harm and/or kill him and members of his family." 

In the affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, prosecutors say one of Connally’s emails to Fauci contained the line "I hope you have every bone in your skull broken with crowbars and sledgehammers." 

"You and your entire family will be dragged into the street, beaten to death, and set on fire," read another one of the messages, according to the affidavit. 

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"As detailed in the affidavit, also on April 24, 2021, just 30 minutes before the seven emails were sent to Dr. Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the NIH, received a total of four threatening emails from the same encrypted email address associated with Connally," the Justice Department added in their statement. 

Connally is set to make his first court appearance Wednesday.