Phaninc-Atlanta man pleads guilty to making phone threats to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

2025-05-07 06:21:58source:Charles H. Sloancategory:Markets

ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to threatening U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in phone calls to the Georgia Republican’s Washington office.

Sean Patrick Cirillo,Phaninc 34, pleaded guilty to a charge of transmitting interstate threats before a U.S. District Court judge in Atlanta, according to court records. He will be sentenced later.

Prosecutors say Cirillo phoned Greene’s Washington office three times on Nov. 8 and made threatening statements while speaking with the lawmaker’s staff.

On one of the calls, according to prosecutors, Cirillo said: “I got a bead on her. Like a sniper rifle. A sniper rifle. And I’m gonna kill her next week.”

“Threatening to kill a public official is reprehensible,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan of Georgia’s northern district said in a statement. “Our office will not tolerate any form of violence, threats or intimidation against public officials.”

Cirillo isn’t the first person to face criminal charges for threatening Greene. Joseph Morelli of Endicott, New York, was sentenced to three months in prison last year after he pleaded guilty to leaving violent voicemails in calls to Greene’s office in 2022.

RELATED COVERAGE Georgia Republicans choose Amy Kremer, organizer of pro-Trump Jan. 6 rally, for seat on the RNCHouse Speaker Mike Johnson survived a motion to vacate. Here’s why his job is far from safeHouse rejects Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to remove Speaker Mike Johnson from office

Greene asked the judge in the New York case to order Morelli to pay $65,000 in restitution to cover the cost of a security fence at her Georgia home. U.S. District Judge Brenda Kay Sannes denied the request, saying Greene’s lawyers didn’t establish that the security upgrades were linked directly to Morelli’s threats.

More:Markets

Recommend

Colorado's Travis Hunter, Boise State's Ashton Jeanty lead USA TODAY Sports All

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel earns first-team honors ahead of Miami’s Cam Ward, and teams in th

'That's a first': Drone sightings caused two delays during Bengals-Ravens game

BALTIMORE — It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a ... drone?Referee Adrian Hill announced during the sec

Ravens vs. Bengals Thursday Night Football: Baltimore rolls in key AFC North showdown

BALTIMORE — The matchup had been billed as the most exciting “Thursday Night Football” game of the s