A California man was arrested Friday for threatening to murder the family of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, the Justice Department said.
Federal prosecutors suspect Markara Man, 33, sent three emails to Pai’s email accounts in December, just days after the commission voted to roll back the Obama-era Internet rules.
The Justice Department said the first email claimed Pai was “responsible for a child who allegedly had committed suicide” because of the repeal of the net neutrality regulations. The second email included three locations near Arlington, Va., and threatened to kill members of Pai’s family. The third email did not include a message in the body, but instead had an image portraying Pai. In the foreground of the image was a framed photograph of the chairman and his family, according to court documents.
The FBI traced the emails back to a computer at Man’s home in Norwalk, Calif., the Justice Department said. Man admitted to sending the emails and told the FBI last month he was “angry” about the repeal of net neutrality and wanted to “scare” Pai, according to the agency.
The 33-year-old was charged with threatening to murder a member of the immediate family of a U.S. official with the intent to intimidate or interfere with such official while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with the intent to retaliate against such official on account of the performance of official duties, according to the Justice Department.
Man faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
