Richard Glenn Kantwill, 61, a dentist from Tampa, pleaded guilty today to sending more than 100 violent threats to public figures, including an election official, between 2019 and 2024.
According to court documents, from September 2019 to July 2020, Kantwill used platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, email, and text messages to issue threats targeting three victims, including an author, a religious figure, and a television personality. Between April 2022 and April 2024, Kantwill sent seven additional threats to four public figures, including a threat to an election official on February 9, 2024.
“Today’s guilty plea is the next step in holding Richard Kantwill accountable for his almost year-long campaign of terror,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Make no mistake, using electronic communications to threaten victims with violence is illegal, and the FBI will continue to pursue those who seek to cause fear and terror.”
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland emphasized the importance of protecting election workers, stating, “In the three years since I created the Department’s Election Threats Task Force, we have aggressively worked to combat the dangerous increase in violent threats against the public servants who administer our elections. Today’s action is yet another warning: the Justice Department will not stand for threats of violence that endanger people’s safety and democracy.”
Kantwill pleaded guilty to four counts of interstate transmission of a threat. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date, with the final sentence determined by a federal district court judge, considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Aaron L. Jennen of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Abigail K. King for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.
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