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Francis Nero, 48, of Eagleville, was federally charged on March 3 on charges of sending threatening communications and cyberstalking, according to Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams.
MCDP Office Executive Director Brian Levy told Norristown police on Jan. 8 that he got a threatening email from someone on Jan. 7, who alluded to a stolen election, police said.
According to Norristown Police Chief Mark E. Talbot and Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, the email read:
“Comment just wanted to let your offices know that you should probably beef up security. With this stolen election and Coup d’etat, violence is the only language you bloodsuckers understand. F*** you and your BLM bulls**t along with ANTIFA.
"We WILL end this insurrection. Again, TRUMP YOU! You f***ing traitors. Random acts of violence are difficult to investigate. Have fun."
Levy notified police when he entered the Airy Street Office around 4:45 p.m. on Jan. 20 and found that it had been shot through three times, striking a wooden desk inside, authorities said.
Two of the three bullets were retrieved by officers from a desk inside the office and were determined to have come from a .45-caliber handgun, authorities said.
An investigation ensued, and with help from the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police, and Montgomery County detectives, Norristown police traced the IP address of the email message to 48-year-old Anthony F Nero's Eagleville home and cellphone, Talbot and Steele said.
Police ordered a search warrant, and later found a loaded 45-caliber Springfield Armory firearm registered to Nero in his car, Talbot and Steele said.
“As alleged in the Complaint, the defendant sent a threatening communication and then acted upon those threats – endangering the lives of anyone who might have been in the vicinity,” said Williams.
“I want to thank our partners in the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and all agencies at the federal, state, and local levels for their dedicated work investigating this case.”
“Law enforcement at the federal, state and local level take terroristic threats very seriously, and we are partnering together to make sure all communities are safe from this kind of threat and criminal behavior,” said Steele.
If convicted, Nero faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, Williams said.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Pennsylvania State Police, Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office Detectives, and Norristown Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vineet Gauri and Josh A. Davison.
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